


The Heart Not to Lose It

by patchfire, raving_liberal



Series: Story of Three Boys [123]
Category: Glee
Genre: Divorce, Easter Eggs, M/M, Neglect, OT3, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-16
Packaged: 2017-12-10 16:27:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/788088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twelve years is a long time to wait.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfectly Reasonable

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings: parental neglect; infant in distress**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> The downloadable playlist for this story cycle can be found [here](http://storyof3boys.livejournal.com/136427.html).

“Ready to go see Charlie?” Kurt asks Harvey as the three of them get on the elevator to head to Finn’s apartment. Noah’s still not sure how Kurt manages to get in without needing to be buzzed in, every single time, but it’s useful, especially when Finn isn’t home and they’re picking up one or both of the girls. Eliza’s at pre-K, already done with spring break, and Finn’s either meeting with his advisor or at Nordoff-Robins. Normally they wouldn’t pick Charlie up more than once or twice a week, and not often on Thursdays, but Harvey’s been asking for her, verbally, and they’re trying to encourage that.

“Tao,” Harvey agrees, which probably doesn’t sound like ‘Charlie’ to anyone but Kurt, Noah, or Finn. 

When the elevator opens, though, Noah can feel his eyes widen, and all three of them tense. Charlie’s crying, hard, and she doesn’t cry like that, not unless something’s wrong. Kurt tries the door and then raises his hand to knock, but Noah stops him, holding his hand and shaking his head. 

“Something’s wrong. Either way, knocking right now isn’t going to help.”

“What?”

“If something’s wrong with Rachel, she won’t answer. And if nothing’s wrong with her, finding out how long she’s letting Char cry might be instructive.” What Finn had mentioned about the doctor, the little things that they’ve all noticed – Noah has a bad feeling about the way Charlie’s crying, and he pulls out his phone to start to time it. 

Harvey gets increasingly distressed, and Kurt sways with him, whispering. Noah’s phone says over four minutes have passed when he can’t stand it any longer, and he knocks loudly. Part of him almost hopes Rachel doesn’t answer, but it’s only twenty seconds or so before Rachel opens the door, looking surprised. 

“Noah! I didn’t know the three of you were dropping by.”

“Thought we’d get Charlie again,” Noah answers, pushing past her. “But she’s sick?”

“No, no, she’s just—” Rachel looks between Noah and Kurt and shakes her head. “It’s just not time for her to eat yet. Some of us can’t let the youngest member of the family dictate the entire schedule.”

“How long has it been?” Noah calls over his shoulder as he walks down the hall. “K, get her a bottle.”

“No, it’s only been a couple of hours!” Rachel says. “I don’t have _that_ much milk pumped!”

“A couple of _hours_?” Kurt asks. “How long did you want her to wait?”

“Three hours is perfectly reasonable,” Noah hears Rachel respond, and his heart sinks. 

“Oh, Char,” he whispers, scooping her up. “C’mere, baby girl. Oh, Charlie-girl, she’s not been feeding you enough, has she?” He reaches into the diaper bag and pulls out Harvey’s bottle; they can go get more or let him eat a little more solid food. Charlie starts eating immediately, and Noah realizes he’s almost crying, watching her suck desperately. “Oh, fuck, Charlie, I’m so sorry none of us realized.” He holds her almost too tightly. “We knew something wasn’t right, but we didn’t know it was this.” 

He walks back down the hall slowly, Charlie still eating, and Rachel barely looks at him. “Thanks ever so much,” she says, then walks towards the bedroom. “Tomorrow will be so much fun. You know where her things are.”

“She was hungry?” Kurt asks, looking torn between wanting to yell and wanting to cry, which is pretty much how Noah feels. “Oh, Charlie.”

“Yeah.” Noah shakes his head. “Figured Harv didn’t mind sharing with his sister.”

“No,” Kurt agrees, and Harvey watches Charlie for a minute, then reaches out and grabs her hand. “Charlie wasn’t feeling good, Harvey, but she’ll feel more like playing in a few minutes.”

“Let’s get out of here before I hurt her or break something,” Noah says as Kurt picks up Charlie’s diaper bag. “I guess she’s been leaving more when Finn’s here?”

“I don’t know.” Kurt shakes his head and sighs. “Do you think Hannah’d mind pumping a month or two longer? And once she’s a little older, well, she’ll start eating solids. And we can all sneak in formula.”

“Fuck, I’d hate to see how long she thinks Char could go between bottles if she knew there was formula in them.” Noah follows Kurt out the door and back to the elevator. “We knew she wasn’t really bonding with Charlie, and we knew something was keeping Charlie from growing right, but I didn’t expect this.”

“No.” Kurt leads them to the Starbucks, and Noah sits down with Charlie, who’s still eating, and Noah is mentally thankful that Harvey’s bottle today was a little more full than usual. “Who would think of her letting Charlie cry? I mean, Charlie’s not even a crier.”

“No.” Noah smiles at her as she releases the bottle and grins up at him. “Hey, Char. Feeling better? We brought Harv to see you,” he tells her, sitting her up, and she burps in the process. “Yeah, you’re such an easy baby, Charlie-girl. I don’t understand it.” 

“I’m going to go get us some coffee,” Kurt decides. “Then we’ll go home for a bit and regroup.”

“We’d better tell him at our place,” Noah says carefully. “He’s going to be pissed. Rightfully so.”

“At our place, after call time,” Kurt says, nodding a little, and then he stands to go order coffee. Noah shakes his head again and buries his face in Charlie’s blonde hair. 

“We are so sorry, Charlie-girl,” Noah whispers. “So, so sorry.”


	2. Patient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twelve years is a long time to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings: mentions of parental neglect and infant in distress**

Finn frowns at the numbers on the scale. “Can we use a different scale?” he asks Charlie’s pediatrician. “Last time we used the one on the other side of the office, and I know they can be calibrated differently…” He trails off at the look on Dr. Shanti’s face. 

“The difference in the scales wouldn’t account for the drop we’re seeing on the charts,” Dr. Shanti explains, pointing to the data points on the screen, showing Charlie’s weight at each visit. “It’s not a matter of an ounce or two.”

“Are you sure you’re using the right charts? ’Cause those formula charts don’t always have the right curves on them, I’ve heard,” Finn says, peering at the screen more closely.

“Right here is her birth weight, six pounds, seven ounces. That’s the twenty-fifth percentile, and yes, it’s the WHO breastfed baby charts.” Dr. Shanti pauses. “As we sometimes see when mom is small, Charlotte jumped up to between the fiftieth and seventy-fifth percentiles by two weeks. At four weeks, she was solidly at seventy-fifth percentile, and again at two months, just under twelve pounds.” She frowns. “Was she sick? Is that why we have a three month old weight?”

Finn nods, a little sheepishly. “Yeah, she had a runny nose and a rash. Rachel said I was being melodramatic, but I brought her in anyway.”

“That may be why the drop to fiftieth percentile didn’t get flagged, then. Now we’re at the four month visit, though, and she’s back at the twenty-fifth percentile. Not quite thirteen pounds. That’s just a pound in the last two months.”

“She’s sitting up now,” Finn offers. “She’s doing that a lot earlier than Eliza did. You don’t think there’s something wrong with her, do you? I mean, she eats. She’s a great eater. She doesn’t really fuss or anything, either, so I don’t think it’s reflux or anything.”

He picks Charlie up and tests her weight in his arms almost unconsciously. Dr. Shanti’s right; Charlie doesn’t feel as solid for her size as she had even a few weeks ago, but because Finn spends so many hours of each day holding her, he hadn’t picked up on it. Charlie makes a happy squeak and pulls on Finn’s shirt collar, trying to stretch it out enough to cram it into her mouth. 

“The fact that she’s clearly meeting her developmental milestones is an excellent marker, yes. But I’d like to see her again in just two weeks to evaluate her weight, and get an idea of where to go from there.”

Finn nods again, hefting Charlie up higher so she can have better access to his collar. “Ok. Yeah, I’ll bring her back in. Is there anything specific I should be looking for?”

“Just make sure she’s producing wet diapers. If you can keep track of her poops, that could give us some information as well.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Finn agrees. 

“Great. We’ll see you in two weeks, then,” Dr. Shanti says, opening the door to the exam room for Finn. 

“Hey, Charlie girl,” Finn says to Charlie, who now has a handful of shirt in his mouth. “What’s up with you, huh? How come you’re not getting fatter?” Charlie doesn’t have any answers, though, unless baby slobber and a happy grin count as answers. 

Rachel always insists Finn should take taxis when he’s got the girls with him, but his girls love the trains. Charlie doesn’t make even a peep of complaint, though she keeps squirming in her carrier to look at the people sitting on either side of Finn. The older woman sitting to Finn’s right smiles at Charlie and talks to her, which just makes Charlie even more excited, leaning against the carrier’s side towards the woman. Whatever’s keeping Charlie from gaining weight, it isn’t affecting her personality at all, Finn decides.

When Finn gets back to the apartment, he calls out, “Hey, Rachel? Are you still here?”

“Yes. I’m in the bedroom,” Rachel calls back. There’s a pause before she continues. “How was Charlotte’s appointment?”

Finn walks into the bedroom, still wearing Charlie in the carrier. “Dr. Shanti was worried about her weight,” he says.

“Well, women our height can’t be too careful,” Rachel says with a nod. 

“What?” Finn asks. “No, not _Dr. Shanti’s_ weight. Charlie’s weight.”

“Has she put on too much?”

“Rachel, a baby can’t put on too much weight.”

“Oh, you mean too little?” Rachel waves her hand dismissively. “I’m sure Dr. Shanti’s just overreacting. After all, I’m not tall, and Eliza wasn’t a big baby, either.” She shrugs. “Everything else is fine?”

“Yeah,” Finn answers, “but the thing is, she _was_ up in the seventy-fifth percentile for weight for a while, and now she’s dropping way off the curve. She’s back down to the twenty-fifth now!”

“Hmm, well. She is a demanding baby. I’m sure that burns calories!” Rachel doesn’t even look at Charlie as she brushes past. 

“Charlie? We’re talking about Charlie, right?” Finn asks incredulously.

“Mmmhmm.” Rachel brushes past again, sitting down and pulling on a pair of shoes. 

“Charlie’s like the least demanding baby I’ve ever met,” Finn says. “I mean, sure, she’ll rev her engine a little bit to let you know she needs something, but she doesn’t even really cry. I can’t think of the last time she did more than grumble about anything. There are coma patients more demanding than Charlie.”

Rachel rolls her eyes. “Continue to create your own reality, Finn. I’m leaving now.”

“You don’t want to nurse her before you go out?”

“I wasn’t sure what time you’d be back, so I pumped. There’s milk in the refrigerator.”

“Why don’t you at least _try_ to nurse her before you go?” Finn asks.

“I don’t have time now,” Rachel says almost sharply. “I’ll be back for a bit later.”

Charlie starts to grumble as Rachel walks out of the bedroom and then out of the apartment, the door slamming behind her. Finn pats Charlie’s back a few times. “Ok, Charlie. Let’s go warm up a bottle, then.”

 

“Don’t knock your sister over,” Kurt says to Harvey, putting one hand on Charlie’s back to keep her upright, and Noah laughs. 

“I think Harv doesn’t quite understand the age difference.” He picks up both bottles and sits down in the floor with them. “Dinner time for babies. Not for grown-ups.” He hands one of the bottles to Kurt. “Doesn’t matter, same amount in both of them.”

Kurt nods. “I think Harvey’s selected for us.” When Noah looks down again, Harvey’s crawled closer to Kurt, so Noah picks up Charlie and starts feeding her. 

“Finn’s on his way?” he asks once both babies are eating.

“He should be here soon.” Kurt closes his eyes briefly. “Maybe we should offer _him_ one of your Xanax.”

“I’m calmer than I’d otherwise be,” Noah agrees. Charlie’s just finishing the bottle when Noah hears Finn’s key in the door. “Hey,” he calls. 

“Hey,” Finn answers. “How’s my Charlie doing?” He already has his arms out as he approaches Noah and Charlie. 

“Good, now,” Noah says, carefully handing Charlie to Finn. “Watch out, she hasn’t burped yet.”

“That’s ok, Charlie. We hate this sweater, don’t we?” Finn says as he pats Charlie on the back. 

“Darling,” Kurt says slowly. “We need to tell you something.”

Before Finn can respond, Charlie burps loudly, and Finn laughs. “Charlie had something to tell me, too, apparently!”

Noah and Kurt don’t laugh, though, and Kurt barely smiles. “When we went to pick Charlie up this morning, she was crying.”

“Aw, were you having a rough morning?” Finn asks Charlie. “Was she running a fever or anything? She feels fine now, temperature-wise, but you know Eliza kept having ear infections that first winter.”

“She wasn’t sick.” Kurt sighs. “We waited for four minutes before we knocked. Rachel was fine. Charlie was in her bed, crying, because it apparently wasn’t yet time for her to eat.”

“Huh?” Finn looks confused, his eyebrows knitting together. “Was she fixing a bottle and it was taking too long or something? You know sometimes she’s bad about that, giving Charlie a bottle instead of nursing her.”

“No.” Kurt closes his eyes briefly, then looks at Finn. “She said it had only been two hours since Charlie ate, and that three hours was a perfectly acceptable interval between times.”

“What?” Finn says, his voice raised. Charlie starts kvetching, and Finn shifts her to his other side and lowers his voice again. “I’m sorry, but what the hell? Charlie likes to eat every hour and half, two hours max.”

“They’re milk siblings now,” Noah says wryly. “I didn’t figure you’d mind her drinking Hannah’s milk.”

“Of course not. That’s fine, but, seriously. What the _hell_ , guys?” Finn shakes his head. “You had to have misunderstood. I mean, she can be selfish, but she wouldn’t starve her own kid. She’s not that far gone yet.”

“Char was hungry. It didn’t take her long to drink the entire bottle. We’ve been giving her as much as she wants whenever she seems like she might even remotely be hungry, no pacifier or toys even today. She was hungry,” Noah says, his voice getting softer at the end. “I mean, I remember Eliza didn’t eat as often as Charlie, but these two here like to eat like the old thing about voting: early and often.” 

Finn’s shoulders sag, and he pulls Charlie closer against his chest. “Oh, Charlie. Shit, I’m so sorry, little kiddo!”

“I think Harvey’s going to learn to say ‘sorry’ just from listening to the three of us today,” Kurt says with a sigh. “How much milk was she leaving when you were the one with Charlie?”

“A few four-ounce bottles,” Finn says. “I couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t just split it into two bottles, since I’d have to get two smaller ones dirty anyway. I guess now we know.” He shakes his head. “If she was giving her four ounces every three hours, and I know Charlie’s only been getting the one bottle at night, because I give it to her, that’s nowhere near enough milk!”

“Yeah, Harv was, what, about three ounces every couple of hours?” Noah says, shaking his head. “I talked to Hannah this afternoon.”

“Is she going to kill Rachel? Do I need to keep her away from the apartment until we can get the bail money together?” Finn asks. 

“I think she’d probably hire someone instead of doing it herself. No, I asked her if she’d keep pumping for another few weeks, instead of stopping later this month,” Noah explains. “There’s no reason we can’t get Char most mornings.”

“Rachel just must not realize she’s not feeding her enough,” Finn says. “I was the one who was there with Eliza most days, and I just assumed Rach was nursing Charlie when Charlie asked. I don’t know where she’d get this idea about making them wait, unless it’s just that she’s confused because of how Eliza was.”

“Is she really going to be willing to pump more, though, darling?” Kurt asks. “That’s why we talked to Hannah. And you didn’t hear Charlie this morning.” He shudders a little. “We could hear her in the hall, and Rachel was ignoring her completely.”

“She was pissed I started feeding her.” Noah shrugs. “It wasn’t time yet, she didn’t have that much milk pumped, blah-blah-blah.”

“Where the hell is she even getting that idea from? That’s new, the time thing,” Finn says. “But no, I don’t think I can get her to pump more. Half the time she’s around, she just has me feed Charlie a bottle instead of nursing her. I’m willing to bet if I’m not there, it’s just bottles.”

“With as much milk as we’ve got, plus Hannah pumping, there’s probably enough to get Charlie to six months, anyway,” Noah says. “But she’ll probably need some formula after that.”

Finn nods. “Ok. I’ll start looking into what kind would be best for her. I hate it, but she’s got to eat more. She’s fallen so far off her curve.”

“We’ll fatten her back up,” Kurt says. “Right, Miss Charlie?”

“Tao,” Harvey says. 

Charlie turns towards Harvey and gives him a big toothless grin, then scrunches up her face and turns bright red. Kurt makes a face and looks at Finn. “Finn. Poop face.”

Finn laughs faintly and says, “Well, we know she’s gotten enough to eat today, at least.”

 

Rachel wasn’t home when Finn got home, and she wasn’t home when he went to sleep, which at least means Finn didn’t commit a crime that night. When he wakes up in the morning, though, she’s there. Finn gets up, changes and feeds Charlie, gets Eliza ready for preschool, and then he and Charlie walk Eliza the half-mile to her Jewish art school – well, Finn walks, and Charlie rides in her carrier. 

After Finn gets back to the apartment, he feeds Charlie again, changes her again, and then puts her down with a toy on the floor of the room she shares with Eliza. He walks into his bedroom, where Rachel is still asleep, and reminds himself that if he goes to jail, it won’t do either of the girls any good.

“Rachel? Wake up,” he says loudly.

Rachel grumbles and rolls over. “What?” she asks impatiently, pulling a pillow over her head.

“Put the fucking pillow down and sit up.”

“Why are you so awful.” Rachel moves the pillow and glares at Finn. “I don’t have to be anywhere yet.”

“Ask me how much of a shit I give,” Finn says. “No, don’t ask me. I’ll tell you. I don’t give any of a shit. You’ve been starving Charlie, and I want you to try to come up with some kind of explanation that doesn’t make you sound like as much of a selfish shit as I think you are right now.”

Rachel rolls her eyes and does sit up. “Is that what the fucking Hummels told you? Just because Charlie was being fussy. She’s four months old, she doesn’t need to be coddled and allowed to set the pace around here.”

“That’s right, Rachel. She’s _four fucking months old_ and you’re giving her, what? Four ounces every three hours? If that much?”

“Babies just think they need to eat more often. Remember I told you about the speaker at the synagogue, Samuel Hill? His book lays out the entire program and rationale.”

“And you remember how I told you that he’s an unqualified dipshit, and that we don’t take parenting advice from unqualified dipshits?” Finn counters. “And that you’d better not try any of his crazy methods with our kids? You remember that, Rach? Think really fucking hard.”

“And you haven’t read his book, Finn! He’s a doctor. It’s a reasonable way to structure the home so that every member is happy and productive.”

“He’s not _Charlie’s_ doctor, and have you even taken a look at our daughter lately, Rachel?” Finn asks. His volume rises and he can feel himself almost shaking with rage. “She’s fallen way off her growth curve because you’re feeding her barely over half of what she needs!”

“Don’t you remember anything?” Rachel snaps. “Eliza was perfectly fine eating less often than every _ninety minutes_. It’s clear who Charlotte takes after, as demanding as she is!”

“You are going to start feeding her every ninety minutes if that’s what she wants,” Finn says. “And I’m taking her back in to Dr. Shanti and making sure this gets noted in Charlie’s medical records. In fact, I think it’s time you went back to work, and we’ll get someone to come keep Charlie during the day.” He narrows his eyes as he continues looking at Rachel. “I’m sure Kurt and Puck would be interested in going in on a nanny-share.”

“Doubtful, the way they drag that baby everywhere.” Rachel sniffs, clearly disapproving. “Fine, I’ll start performing more. I’ve got my figure more or less back, anyway. But I have to be able to sleep in the mornings, if I’m performing.”

“You can get up and pump at least once,” Finn says. 

“No,” Rachel retorts.

“Then I guess it’s good that Hannah’s offered to pump milk for Charlie, then,” Finn says. “Since you’ve decided it’s fine to underfeed her and that she’s not worth making any extra effort for. You never would have pulled this shit with Eliza.”

Rachel works her jaw, looking like she wants to object, but she doesn’t. “Fine,” she says finally. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Sure. Get your beauty rest, since that’s apparently the only thing that matters,” Finn answers. “I’m taking Charlie over to Puck and Kurt’s place, where I know she’ll get fed while I work on my dissertation revisions.”

“Fucking Hummels,” Rachel hisses, lying back down and pulling the duvet up over her head.

Finn goes back into the girls’ room and packs a bag for Charlie, picking her up and giving her a kiss on the top of her curly blonde hair. “Let’s go see people who love us,” he whispers to her. “They’ll take good care of us today.” 

 

“Guess who’s coming?” Kurt says to Harvey, holding him near the window. “Look down there. Is that Dad?” Harvey laughs, and Kurt smiles. “That’s Dad, and there’s your sister.”

“Tao!”

“He’s going to start thinking all sisters are called Charlie, if Eliza doesn’t get done with pre-K for the year soon,” Noah says from the futon. “Remember, Harv, you and Char have to take a long nap today, okay? Because it’s Tuesday.” 

“They can entertain each other if they wake up,” Kurt says, moving away from the window as Finn enters the building, and he hands Harvey to Noah, who helps Harvey stand up in front of him. Just a few moments pass before Kurt hears Finn’s footsteps, and he goes to the door and opens it before Finn can put his key in the lock. “Come here, Charlie,” he says, reaching for her. 

Charlie puts her arms out for Kurt to take her, and Finn laughs. “So I guess you’re her favorite today,” he says. “She’s mad at me I think.”

“You did take her to the doctor, darling,” Kurt points out, shifting Charlie slightly and kissing Finn briefly. “Who wants to go to the doctor when there are more exciting things to do?”

“Nah, we love Dr. Shanti!” Finn insists. “It’s that mean old nurse who drew blood that we don’t like. Hey, Harvey-marvey, did you see Charlie’s pink band-aid?”

“Did it hurt?” Kurt asks Charlie gravely, but she just smiles at him, and Kurt smiles back at her, shaking his head and carrying her towards the blanket on the floor in the living room. 

“What’d they say?” Noah asks Finn. 

“Already put on a half a pound and climbing back up towards the curve she should be on,” Finn says proudly. “The bloodwork showed her iron was a little low. We’ve got some yucky drops for now, but she can stop those once she’s on some solids, Dr. Shanti said. I made sure she understood the situation with Rachel, too. She wasn’t happy about it.”

“Good. She shouldn’t be.” Noah laughs. “She give you the official schpiel about not sharing milk?”

“Nope. She was just relieved Charlie was getting enough to eat,” Finn says. “I told her it was from a screened donor, which is totally true.”

“You do feel a little heavier,” Kurt says to Charlie. “Good job.” He turns to Finn. “Can she start solids a little sooner? Since she’s sitting up and she needs calories and iron?”

“Oh, yeah, sweet potatoes aren’t exactly that rich in iron, are they?” Noah asks. 

“Dr. Shanti said we can start her with some meat once she can do the pincer grasp,” Finn says. “She wouldn’t normally recommend it this early for a breastfed baby, but given the circumstances…” He shrugs.

Noah starts to laugh, and Kurt feels himself start to giggle. “Can you tape that?” Noah asks. “When you tell Rachel that meat was prescribed?”

“Just warn us ahead of time,” Kurt says through the giggles. “In case she collapses and she can’t perform that night.”

“Will do,” Finn promises. “Any luck on the great nanny search of twenty twenty-four?”

“Two more that only said they’d do live-out in hopes of convincing someone they wanted a live-in,” Noah reports. “One that had too many physical limitations. And two maybes. I like the looks of the second one better, based on the answers on paper, but she—or maybe he, it’s one of those unisex names—lives on Staten Island.”

“Ouch, long way to go,” Finn says.

“The other one’s not too far from Hannah’s place, I think. Farther up the 2. I figured we’d let them both meet the kids and talk to them a little, go from there. Main thing about Staten Island is if the ferry’s running late or something, there’s not exactly an alternate route.”

“Yeah, doesn’t hurt to give them both a try, but I think you’re right about the ferry,” Finn says. 

“Also, if the Staten Island one was a guy, that would be quite a few male role models,” Kurt says dryly. “I think they found us easy to serve, actually, since we weren’t demanding special skills in any area, or proficiency in specific foreign languages.”

“Actually, she asked me three times if I was sure we didn’t want to list a second language.” Noah laughs. “‘Sir, we even have nannies who speak fluent Hebrew!’”

“Yeah, ’cause that’s exactly what we need!” Finn says. “More fucking Hebrew!”

“Hey, that’s what we’ll use on Nana when she’s out here next month,” Noah says, smirking. “We’ll tell her she has to move out east so she can teach the babies Hebrew.”

“Then they’d speak it as well as you?” Kurt asks, grinning. “All the insults and kvetching?”

“That’s not— okay, yeah, the kvetching is definitely Nana’s fault,” Noah admits. 

“And Charlie learned it from you,” Finn adds.

“That’s why she’s so good at it,” Noah says solemnly. “Asshole.”

“’Cause she learned from the master, asshole,” Finn agrees.

“Charlie, I hope you’re feeling sleepy,” Kurt says to her, then looks over at Harvey, who’s still standing in place in front of Noah. “You too, Harvey.”

“Oh?” Finn asks, obviously fighting a grin.

“It’s Tuesday, and you two are starting up,” Kurt says, shaking his head and pressing his own lips together. “That means naptime for the babies.”

 

As Eliza runs up the steps and onto the wooden play structure, Finn scans the area around the playground, frowning.

“How are we supposed to know which one is the nanny?” Finn asks. “Is she going to have a nametag or something, do you think?”

“How many people are here without kids, looking for three guys with three kids?” Puck says in response. “Come to think of it, it’d be a little weird if there were a lot of people here without any kids.”

“Unless she sees us and turns around,” Kurt says, grinning slightly. 

“Once she sees the babies, she’ll be hooked,” Finn says. “Our babies are the cutest babies.”

“And we’re completely unbiased,” Kurt agrees. “Do you want to walk in the sand, Harvey?”

“Taoee!”

“I don’t think Charlie’s ready to walk in the sand yet, buddy,” Finn says. “We can sit her down in it, though, if you want.”

“He’ll probably try to convince her stand up or something.” Puck laughs. “Or she’ll at least try.”

“Hi Dad!” Eliza calls from the playground structure. “Look at me!”

“I see you! You climbed up high!” Finn calls back, waving to Eliza who is standing on one of the towers waving at him.

“That’s your PhD-level observational skills, huh?” Puck says with a smirk. 

“Asshole,” Finn mutters. “I’m neutrally acknowledging her accomplishments. That’s totally PhD-level.”

Puck laughs. “Yeah, that is.”

While Puck is still laughing, they’re approached by a young woman with long brown hair. “Is one of you Mister Hummel?” she asks.

“Two of us are,” Finn says. “I’m not one of the two, though. Are you Safiya?”

“Yes sir,” she answers. “Are you Mister Hudson, then?”

“That’s me,” Finn says, offering her his hand when it becomes obvious she isn’t going to initiate a handshake. Safiya takes his hand and shakes it politely. “That little guy down there is Harvey, this one’s Charlie, and Eliza is way up on the playground.”

“I’m Kurt, and this is Noah,” Kurt says, gesturing to Puck before offering his hand. “We can grab one of the benches and sit for a moment.” 

“Is sand part of what you want her to eat?” Puck asks Finn, nudging him and nodding at Charlie with a grin.

“Harvey! Don’t feed sand to Charlie!” Finn says. 

“Taoee! And!” Harvey says, grinning up at Finn. 

“I know she likes the sand, Starvin’ Harvin,” Finn says, “but she can’t eat it, you got that?”

“How far apart are they?” Safiya asks. 

“Almost seven months,” Puck answers. “If Charlie’d decided to cook even longer, it’d be an even seven.” He leans over and picks up Charlie before sitting on the closest bench. “Food’s good, Char, not sand.” 

Safiya laughs at the expression on Harvey’s face when Charlie is picked up. “The agency said this would be a nanny share. Which children belong to which of you?”

“Well,” Finn begins, looking to Kurt.

“The girls are Finn’s,” Kurt says factually. “All three of them are technically cousins, though, and we’re pretty sure that Harvey thinks they are, in fact, his sisters.”

Safiya nods. “So they’re used to spending most of their time together, then?”

“Yeah. Kurt and I have a pretty flexible schedule, so the last month, month and a half, Char’s been with us while Finn’s working on his revisions,” Puck answers, nodding at Finn. “And getting fatter, right, Charlie-girl?”

“Hey, that’s an important full-time job,” Finn says. 

Safiya gives Puck and Finn a puzzled look. “She fell off her growth curves,” Kurt explains, smiling at Safiya. “So we’ve all been trying to get her weight back up.”

“Oh dear, was she ill?” Safiya asks. 

Puck grimaces a little. “No. Her mother wasn’t really feeding her enough, and we didn’t realize.” He pauses for a moment. “The thing is, you won’t see Rachel, so it’s not really an issue.”

Finn nods in agreement. “You’d be watching them at the Hummels’ apartment, not mine,” he explains. “I’ll be doing any dropping off or picking up that isn’t handled by them.”

“You want to meet Eliza?” Puck suggests. 

“That would good, yes,” Safiya says. 

“Hey, sweet potato!” Puck yells. “C’mere!”

“I yam what I yam!” Eliza calls back, then comes running over. She stops in front of Puck, laughing. “Did you hear? Dad taught me!”

“Yeah, I heard you,” Puck says, laughing with her. “Can you say hi to someone for me?” He turns towards Safiya, and Eliza turns as well. 

“Hi.” Eliza stops. “I’m Eliza.”

“Hello, Eliza. My name is Safiya.” Safiya turns to Puck. “Are you related to her mother? She favors you.”

Puck grins. "Nah, just western Ohio Jewishness I guess."

“Will the children need certain dietary restrictions to be observed?” Safiya asks. 

"No, they can eat as they please," Kurt says. "This one here loves bacon, actually." He gestures to Noah with a grin. “Eliza, do you want to play with Safiya and Harvey?”

Eliza nods, going over to Harvey and taking his hand. Safiya offers Eliza her hand as well. 

“Do you want to try that slide?” Safiya asks. 

“Yes!” Eliza says, walking towards it slowly, so Harvey can keep up. When Eliza lets go of his hand to climb, he frowns and looks around. 

“TAOEEE!” Harvey cries when he doesn’t immediately see her. 

Finn laughs and reaches for Charlie. Puck hands her up to him with a rueful grin. “Safiya?” Finn calls after their new potential nanny. “If you don’t want Harvey to throw a tantrum, you might want to come get to meet Charlie, too.”

“Maybe I’ll send her that page I found about twins. Close enough,” Puck says. 

As Finn hands Charlie over to Safiya, he resists the urge to pat her on the shoulder in solidarity, and instead says, “Good luck.” As Safiya carries Charlie back over to Harvey, who immediately stops crying, Finn turns to Puck and Kurt. “So?”

“I like her,” Kurt says. “She didn’t try to convince us she was going to make our children smarter or faster or anything like that.”

“Or even bilingual.” Puck grins. “I agree. What do you think, darling?”

“I’d kind of like it if she made them faster,” Finn muses. “Maybe gave them some other super powers. Barring that, though, I like her.”

Puck laughs. “Well, I know I feel like I really fit into the Upper West Side now. Therapist, psychiatrist, _and_ a nanny. I can’t wait to hear Hannah’s commentary.”

 

In the end, Kurt agrees with Noah’s assertion that a first birthday in a restaurant would be asking for trouble. It’s interesting enough to coordinate and get through an outdoor party at the Tots Playground in Central Park. Harvey enjoys himself, though he insists on Charlie sitting near him at all times, and somehow as the party ends, Kurt finds himself sitting on the edge of the sandbox, watching Harvey, and the only person still there is Burt. Finn and Noah are with the girls, taking Harvey’s gifts back to the apartment, and Kurt isn’t entirely sure where Carole went. 

“I am very glad we didn’t attempt to do the party at the apartment,” Kurt says to Burt with a smile. “But everyone seemed to have a good time.”

“Harvey looked like he enjoyed it as much as any kid enjoys his first birthday party,” Burt says. 

“What wasn’t to enjoy?” Kurt asks rhetorically. “It’s been a busy few days, hasn’t it, Harvey?”

“Taoee?”

“No, no Charlie right now,” Kurt says, shaking his head. “Just Daddy and Grandpa.”

“He’s nuts about his cousin,” Burt says. “The heck with the rest of us, huh, kiddo?”

Kurt laughs. “It does seem that way at times. Is this more fun than watching all the ceremony yesterday, Harvey?” Harvey looks blankly at Kurt, and Kurt winces inwardly. If he’d been able to refer to Finn properly, Harvey would have understood a bit more, but that isn’t a conversation he plans on having in the middle of Central Park. 

“Graduation’s not really set up for babies, I guess,” Burt agrees. 

“No, not really,” Kurt says, nodding. “But they did relatively well, all things considered.”

“They did, though I thought Charlie was going to put up a fuss when Rachel tried to take her,” Burt says. 

“Mmm,” Kurt responds, trying not roll his eyes at the thought of Rachel. “Well, it would have taken her farther away from Harvey, after all,” he finally says, because it would have, in fact, taken Charlie farther away from Harvey. It hadn’t stopped Noah from looking almost smug that Charlie had wanted to stay with him, though. 

“Still a little surprised she couldn’t make it out to the party. Seems like she could’ve rearranged some things,” Burt says. 

Rachel not being at the party is something Kurt’s thankful for, actually, but he tries not to let on to Burt. “May and June are always busy months. I suppose that committee meeting or whatever had to be on a Saturday afternoon to accommodate everyone’s schedule,” Kurt says. He can’t remember what story Rachel had spun for her absence, if he ever knew in the first place the version Burt and Carole heard, but ‘committee meeting’ sounds plausible enough. 

“Are things going okay with her and Finn?” Burt asks. “Seemed a little bit awkward at graduation.”

“Oh, I think they’re as good as ever,” Kurt says almost flippantly. It’s not a lie; things just never had gone _well_ for Finn and Rachel. 

“Uh-huh.” Burt gives Kurt a long look before shaking his head. “So, when are you two bringing Harvey out to Lima to visit again?”

“Well, we’ll definitely be out around the holidays,” Kurt says slowly. “Next month’s busy, of course. Tonys, birthdays, Pride.”

“Finn get roped into presenting an award again?” Burt asks. 

“Are you kidding? He loves it. I think they want to use him in a musical number, too.”

Burt laughs. “Now that I’d love to see.”

 

“Now, during the pieces, you have to be very quiet,” Noah says to Harvey seriously. “Even if all of the musicians are four, five, and six years old.”

“I think he and Charlie would be forgiven if necessary,” Kurt says with a laugh as they enter the building where Eliza’s recital is being held. “They can’t be the only younger siblings.”

“Yeah, true,” Noah concedes, scanning the lobby. “There’s Finn.” He heads towards where he can see Finn’s head over the rest of the group, but it’s Rachel that spots them first.

“Noah, Kurt.” Her smile slips. “I see you brought that baby.”

“Funny thing,” Kurt says sharply, though he’s technically smiling. “That our son has a name.”

“Not even a hard to remember one,” Noah says, smirking at Rachel. “It’s like you hear the same name at work most of the time.”

“Hey guys,” Finn says, shifting Charlie to the side so he can reach for Harvey. “All the babies!”

“I’m so surprised,” Noah says, letting Harvey move over to Finn. “That you would want to hold the babies. Eliza already with her teacher?”

“Naturally, they’re doing a warm-up and review of the procedures for today,” Rachel says, the fake polished smile back on her face. “Eliza will be performing in one of the first slots.”

“Should we find seats, then?” Kurt asks. 

“Sounds good to me,” Finn says. He repositions Charlie again and grimaces. 

“Here, let me take her,” Noah says, raising his eyebrows at Finn. “You have some NSAIDs you can take?”

“I’m fine,” Finn grumbles. “Let’s just sit down.”

“Okay,” Noah says dubiously, but he scoops up Charlie anyway as they go to find a seat. They don’t have to wait long before it starts, and Harvey and Charlie do better than Noah had expected, probably because Harvey has a grip on Charlie’s wrist.

When Eliza is announced, all of them applaud, and Noah shakes his head a little when Rachel sits on the edge of her seat, staring at Eliza. She’s not enjoying Eliza’s performance, or taking pictures of it. She looks almost like she’s planning to write a review of it, and Noah frowns. 

Eliza plays her two pieces, smiling as she takes a little bow, and while Rachel does join the rest of them in clapping, she’s the one scowling. The remainder of the recital goes by without anyone particularly standing out to Noah, though he does mentally concede it’s possible he’s biased about Eliza’s skill level. 

At the end of the recital, all the students go back onto the stage and take a final bow, and then they’re released to their families for pictures and cookies in the lobby. Kurt gets up to the stage before the rest of them, and they’re laughing when they get back up the aisle. 

“Eliza Bette!” Rachel says sharply, marching forward and pulling Eliza to the side before Noah or Finn can even move. Kurt looks stunned, and the three of them turn towards Rachel and Eliza. 

“Did I do goo— well, Mommy?” Eliza says, still smiling, but she looks at Kurt and giggles when she corrects herself from good to well. 

“Eliza, before today, we discussed the need to focus on a well-done performance. You were fidgeting throughout both pieces!”

Eliza’s face falls. “I tried not to, Mommy.”

“And while I appreciate the need for audience approval, you have to balance that desire with a focus on your own performance,” Rachel continues, as if Eliza hadn’t spoken at all. “Stand up straight!”

“Rachel,” Finn says sharply. “Stop it.”

“She and I talked about all of this, Finn! I stressed the importance of not slouching!” Rachel says, glaring at Finn. She looks like she’s gearing up to rant further, but Finn cuts her off as her mouth opens. 

“Not here. Not at her recital.” Finn steps in closer and Noah can just barely hear what Finn says next. “You plaster a smile on your face for your daughter and act like you’re actually proud of her.”

Rachel’s nostrils flare as she straightens and glares at Finn, and Eliza takes the opportunity to leave the aisle and run towards Noah and Kurt. “Puck! I played the piano, just like you!”

Noah smiles at her. “You sure did, sweet potato.”

“Critique is an important part of a performer’s life!” Rachel is saying to Finn. “She needs to become accustomed to it.”

“That’s why you pitched a fit about that blurb on Off Broadway Off Color?” Finn asks. “Because you’re so accustomed to critique?”

“That was just mean-spirited!” Rachel blusters, and Noah has to turn away to hide his laughter. The couple of paragraphs had pointed out Rachel hadn’t really made an effort post-maternity leave to get her voice or stamina ready to go back on stage; it wasn’t untrue, either, though they’d let Angela take the fall of informing Rachel she needed to step it up. 

“Za!” Harvey says, grinning at Eliza. 

“Thanks, Harvey!” Eliza says, beaming at him. “I had fun.”

“Good,” Kurt says to her. “That’s the important thing, Eliza.”

 

Overall, Kurt and Noah have a pretty high level of control over _Milk_ , compared to some writers, and a pretty high level of day-to-day involvement. Part of that's because of Kurt being part of the original cast, and still doing a few shows, and part of it's just because that's the way they wanted it. Unfortunately, part of the price they pay is Noah sorts through a lot of the press requests himself, and one day a week, he screens the more interesting ones. Sometimes they get invited to interview him, or whoever the subject of their piece is; rarely, Noah decides he and Kurt will actually do a full-scale interview. 

Noah adjusts the position of the fan, wishing a one hundred plus year old theatre had air conditioning, and looks up at the knock on the door. "Come in."

"Ben Whitman, _The Advocate_. Mr. Hummel?"

"Call me Noah, otherwise it gets confusing around here," Noah says, standing and offering his hand. 

"I appreciate you making time to see me. I'd like to do a piece for our readers on you and your husband, two years post-Tony wins, how the show is doing, where your professional lives are headed next, that kind of thing." 

Noah nods, gesturing for Ben to sit down. "Your proposal was at least a bit different than some of the ones that we've gotten recently."

"Oh, good." Ben looks at one of the pictures hanging up. "Those are cute kids. I found a reference to the two of you having a son…?"

"Yeah, that's Harv," Noah says with a grin. "The girls are his cousins." Technically his cousins, anyway. 

"You named your son after your musical?"

"Technically we named him after Harvey Milk, the same as we named the musical," Noah corrects. There's something weirdly familiar about the guy and his way of speaking, and like that, it hits him. "Benji. _Benji_ Whitman."

"I did used to use that name, but—" Ben frowns. "I haven't used that name in years."

"Benji Whitman. I can't remember which place you worked for." Noah laughs. "You wrote that 'profile piece' on Kurt."

Ben falls silent before his eyes widen. "You're the boyfriend that called me."

Noah keeps laughing. "Guilty as charged. Still want to do an interview?"

"It suddenly got more interesting," Ben says, starting to smile. "I thought that it was the same Kurt Hummel, but I had no idea you were from Ohio, too."

"Yep. Dig a little deeper into where some of us are from. Our choreographer, our lawyer, our Anne Kronenberg." 

Ben shakes his head. "Can I send you a message about meeting at a later time?" he finally asks, sounding a little stunned. 

"We've got next Monday afternoon for an hour or so. Sound good?" Noah says it casually, but he thinks Ben understands that it's a take it or leave it sort of offer. 

"Should I meet you here?" 

"Schnipper's down the street, at one," Noah answers. "You been there?"

"No, I haven't."

"Wait and have lunch there."

"Ah, okay." Ben nods. "I'll see you then. Thank you, Noah."

"No problem. _Benji_." Noah shakes his head as Ben leaves, then picks up his phone. "Hey, K. You're probably not going to guess who came in."

 

Once Finn gets past the technical aspects—finding an office to lease, hiring an assistant—setting up his own practice is easier and more rewarding than he’d thought it would be. He already has a short list of regular clients right out of the gate, between the few whose parents wanted them to stay with Finn when he left Nordoff-Robbins and the kids of other Broadway performers that Kurt and Puck have sent his way. Apparently a psychologist who integrates traditional therapy and music therapy is practically trendy among the New York stage people. 

The office itself is located in Morningside Heights and has large windows that let sunlight into the room where he meets with the kids. Finn has a little room where he keeps his files and his instruments, along with toys for the younger clients he sees, and Heidi, his assistant, has her desk in the walk-in space. Finn has pictures of Eliza, Charlie, and Harvey on his own desk, plus a picture of himself with Kurt and Puck, and the result is that the whole office feels very homey and like it really belongs to Finn, in a way that none of his apartments ever have.

With his practice up and running, Eliza doing well in school and her extracurricular activities, and Charlie finally back on the growth chart where she should be, everything feels like it’s starting to slot into place. Despite that, Finn still feels like he’s waiting, though he can’t pinpoint what it is he’s waiting on. Things obviously aren’t perfect yet; he’s still married to Rachel, and he’s still not home. Somewhere there’s a step he’s missing or a sign he hasn’t gotten yet, the one that will let him know it’s time. 

Finn meets Victor out at the Village Pourhouse on Amsterdam, and they order beers and burgers, making idle conversation. After the waitress brings their food, Victor gets a big grin on his face.

“What’re you so happy about?” Finn asks. “Burgers aren’t _that_ good.”

Victor laughs. “Well, they do look pretty good, but no, that’s not why I’m happy.”

“Your teams doing well?” Finn guesses. Since Victor stopped playing almost two years ago, he’s been coaching football and basketball through a non-profit group that works with some of the schools in the rougher neighborhoods. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah, they are. Got a couple of kids really loosening up and getting into it, letting themselves excel.” Victor keeps grinning. “But that’s not it. Guess again.”

“Did the program director finally get back to you about whether she wanted me to come in and do some music therapy sessions with the kids?” Finn doesn’t actually think that’s it, but he wanted to follow up on that anyway, so it’s as good a guess as any.

“Oh, nah, not yet. I think it’s on her agenda for next week’s meeting. Keep going!”

Finn shakes his head. “I got nothing, man. You’d better just tell me before I start guessing some really weird shit.”

“Got engaged,” Victor finally admits. 

“No fucking way!” Finn says, probably a little too loudly. “You and Devon? Finally?”

Victor laughs. “Yeah, _finally_ ,” he says. 

“That’s awesome. Congratulations! And hey, you know I’ve got this nice tux I hardly ever get to wear, so if you’re in need of any groomsmen…”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Bluebird,” Victor says with a grin. “How about you? How’s your girls?”

“Oh, man. Eliza is sharp as a tack. She’s _so_ smart! And Charlie’s chunking up.” Finn laughs a little and adds, “She looks like a little koala bear when you hold her now. Chubby and hanging on for dear life.”

“Not grey and fuzzy?” Victor asks. 

“A little bit fuzzy,” Finn admits. “Good thing she apparently looks just like me, otherwise people would wonder where she got that hair.”

Victor laughs shortly, nodding. “And your boys?” he asks more quietly. 

“Patient,” Finn says. “And Harvey’s just barely on this side of being spoiled rotten, but he’s a really sweet kid, luckily.”

“I am not at all shocked about the spoiling,” Victor admits. 

“Now that Charlie’s getting bigger, I think she might be the one who keeps him in line,” Finn says. “She takes after Kurt. Eight months old and already the bossofHarv. She calls him ‘Ah!’ I mean, she calls Eliza that, too, but you can always tell when it’s for Harvey.”

“What’s she call the rest of you?” 

“Da.”

“Even Rachel?”

Finn snorts and shakes his head. “Charlie doesn’t call Rachel anything. She doesn’t really want much to do with her.”

“Well, she’s young, I guess,” Victor says, though he doesn’t sound like he believes what he’s saying. 

“Don’t see that changing much,” Finn says, frowning. He shakes his head again and smiles at Victor. “But hey, tell me more about this engagement! And do you already have wedding plans?”

 

For once, they're not going anywhere or working or playing with Harvey or doing anything but waiting, and it's almost amusing, how it sits weirdly on them, Noah thinks, and he watches Kurt almost pacing. 

"It's September," Kurt says softly, breaking the silence. "I thought— I don't know what I thought, really. I thought there was a possibility, I suppose."

"Yeah." Noah tosses one of Harvey's toys absently. "June was so busy, and we were at the beach for those few days in July, but yeah, I thought maybe by now." 

"Well, we're good at waiting," Kurt says wryly, and that does sum up a lot of things. They've gotten very good at waiting, pacing notwithstanding.

"At least we managed a Sunday night," Noah says, changing the subject somewhat. Talking about what they don't have—Finn, the girls—isn't going to bring them there magically. And a Sunday night with just the two of them and Finn isn't shabby, not anymore. 

"True. That was nice of Hannah and Syd, though I suspect some collusion and scheming."

"I pretty much always expect scheming where Hannah's involved," Noah jokes. 

"True. What was that she was saying when she picked up Harvey?"

"Oh, Stevie said Sam's playing the Jets on Thanksgiving night, so he'll be in town that—" Noah breaks off as he hears Finn's key in the door. "Hey!"

“Hey!” Finn calls out. “It’s so quiet in here!”

“Weird, isn’t it?” Noah says. 

“I keep thinking it means someone’s up to no good,” Kurt admits. “Hi, darling.”

“Did you order yet?” Finn asks, coming in to give Kurt and then Noah a kiss. “I’m starving.”

“Not yet,” Kurt answers. “Indian or Vietnamese?”

“Vietnamese is good, but I need like triple meat or something,” Finn says. “I think I pushed myself a little too much with the weights today.”

Noah shakes his head. “Be careful. So guess who’s going to be in town around Thanksgiving?” he asks Finn while Kurt starts to order. 

“Other than the entire extended family, Berrys included?” Finn asks. “No clue.”

“I’d make a dolphin noise, but no,” Noah says. “Dolphins play the Jets that night, Stevie told Hannah.”

“Sam! We should have him meet us for food!” Finn says. 

“Sam still doesn’t realize who Hannah is,” Kurt says, putting his phone down and smirking slightly. “Should Stevie let him in on it ahead of time?”

“Nah,” Finn says, laughing and shaking his head. “Let’s spring it on him. Nothing like surprise reunions, right?”

“Stevie can just pass on that his girlfriend’s family is happy to have him join them,” Noah says, snickering. “If we were really cruel, we’d have him say not to worry, they aren’t Dolphins fans or anything.” 

“It’s not untrue,” Kurt points out. 

“I’ve been known to watch a Dolphin game or two,” Finn says.

“Or we could have Stevie say that we _are_ big fans.” Kurt laughs. “I almost feel sorry for Sam.”

“Poor Sammy, gonna end up with his brother marrying into the Hummel family, probably,” Finn says sadly. “He has no idea what he’s in for.”

Noah shakes his head. “Yeah, well. Neither do you, throwing ideas like that around.”

“Well, it’s too late for _me_ to marry her,” Finn insists. “I don’t think she’d take me at this point.”

Kurt laughs. “No, probably not.”

 

“Dad?” Eliza asks when they turn onto Seventh Avenue. “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” Finn says. Eliza’s little face scrunches up in worry. “It’s ok to ask, whatever it is.”

Eliza nods. “I know. Dad, why does Mommy hate Charlie? I didn’t want to ask this morning because Charlie was with us.”

Finn tries to not let the shock show on his face, though he tightens his hold on Eliza’s hand. “Mommy doesn’t hate Charlie, sweetheart.”

“She said she did,” Eliza insists. “She was yelling and she said ‘I hate you, Charlotte!’ in a mean voice.” Eliza lowers her voice. “I told Charlie not to listen to her.” 

Finn stops walking and drops down onto one knee so he’s eye-level with Eliza. “That was a good thing to say. You’re a great big sister,” he tells her. “I’m so sorry you heard Mommy saying that. She should never say something like that to you or Charlie.”

“Maybe if Charlie can sing, Mommy will like her better,” Eliza suggests. “Can we stop at Whole Foods and get a cookie?”

“Yeah, of course we can,” Finn says, giving Eliza a hug before he stands up again. “Maybe we’ll get one for Charlie, too, and you can sneak it to her when I’m not looking.”

Eliza giggles. “A real one, right? Not the vegan ones?”

“Chocolate chip,” Finn says. “Or maybe the double-chocolate kind that Puck likes. We could get a dozen and bring them over.”

“Yay!” Eliza claps. “Guess what we did in math today?”

“Hmm. I guess… nothing! You skipped math and did reading twice instead.”

“No, Dad! We counted by five!”

“That was going to be my next guess!” Finn says, in pretend shock. “Next time I get two guesses first.”

After Whole Foods, Finn and Eliza take a dozen double-chocolate cookies to Puck and Kurt’s apartment, where Finn lets Eliza knock on the door, carton of cookies tucked under her arm. 

“Hey, sweet potato!” Puck says. 

“I bought cookies!” Eliza announces. 

“Are they all for me?” Puck jokes. 

“No, silly! I’m supposed to sneak one to Charlie. Can I sneak one to Harvey, too?”

Puck nods solemnly. “Sure. I’ll pretend not to notice.”

“Okay!” Eliza goes into the apartment, and Puck raises an eyebrow at Finn. 

“Not that I’m complaining about chocolate…”

“Rachel said something that upset her,” Finn says quietly, once Eliza is out of his line of sight. “Eliza asked me on the walk home why her mommy hates Charlie.”

“Fuck.” Puck closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Poor girls.”

“Apparently Rachel said it to Charlie in front of Eliza,” Finn says.

“I think between us, we have more than enough to hire a hitman and conceal we even spent the money, right?” Puck shakes his head again. “Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know why she’d say it in front of Eliza,” Finn says, “but I think she really means it. That’s what’s so fucked up about it.” He sighs and crosses to the futon to sit down. “Eliza said maybe Mommy would like Charlie better if Charlie could sing. What’s that sound like to you?”

“Nothing good.” Puck doesn’t sit down, just paces back and forth a few times before stopping near the window. “We’re not headed down tonight, you three want to eat dinner with us?”

“Yeah, that’d be good,” Finn says. “Maybe the girls can stay tonight, in case it gets loud when I talk to Rachel?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Puck agrees. “One of us can take Eliza to school in the morning.”

“Thanks, baby,” Finn says softly. He closes his eyes and leans his head against the back of the futon. “This isn’t gonna be fun.”

Finn and the girls eat dinner with Puck, Kurt, and Harvey, then Finn helps get all three kids to bed, and then Finn helps himself to bed with Kurt and Puck for a little over an hour before heading back to the apartment to wait for Rachel. Because she has another performance the following night, Rachel comes back at around one in the morning. Finn is sitting in the living room, lights off, sipping a drink when she walks through the door.

Rachel sets her bag down and bends to take off her shoes, putting them beside the door with a little sigh. 

“Come sit down,” Finn says.

Rachel jumps. “Finn! You scared me,” she chides. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“Waiting,” Finn says. “Now, come sit down, please. We need to talk.”

Rachel sniffs and walks towards the chair, sitting down slowly. “About what?”

“What you said to Charlie in front of Eliza.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rachel says. “Really, Finn, are you sure this can’t wait?”

“You told Charlie you hated her,” Finn says, ignoring Rachel’s question. “Not only that, you said it right in front of Eliza. Why would you do something like that?”

“Oh, that.” Rachel rolls her eyes. “Stop making a big deal out of nothing, Finn. People say things. Charlie was being obnoxious, like she often is.”

“No, Rachel. People don’t just say things like ‘I hate you’ to their kids. That’s not some oops kind of thing,” Finn argues.

“What do you want me to say, Finn?” Rachel asks him. “Sob and beg you and the girls for some kind of forgiveness?”

“I want you to stop acting like the girls are some kind of horrible disappointment and start acting like they’re your children and you’re their fucking mother,” Finn says, raising his voice. “I don’t care if you cry or not. I just want you to treat the girls like you love them, even if you have to fake it.”

“And why wouldn’t I be disappointed sometimes?” Rachel shoots back. She crosses her arms and huffs, muttering to herself. “Should have gotten rid of Charlotte, too.”

Finn can feel his mouth drop open, and he gapes at Rachel for a few moments before he manages to say, “Excuse me?”

Rachel looks up, defiant. “I said, I shouldn’t have had her.”

“No, you said you should have _gotten rid of her_ ,” Finn says. “And you said _too_. ‘Too’ means also. ‘Too’ means again.”

“And?” Rachel says, tossing her head. 

“When?” Finn asks. “When was the first time? Was that… is that what you did? Is that why you lost the first baby?” 

“It was a very promising part,” Rachel says stiffly. “It’s not my fault that it never made it onto Broadway, but the material was promising and it was a lead role.”

Finn can barely take a deep breath, and he can hear his pulse pounding in his ears, almost blocking out Rachel’s voice. “But why?” he asks. “Why lie to me? I don’t understand.”

“Well, you’d always _said_ you thought it was a woman’s right, but really, everything considered, I wasn’t going to take any chances.”

“You lied to me,” Finn says. “You lied to me, you let me think something had gone wrong, and you just… you _lied_ to me.” He shakes his head, trying to erase the memory of how upset he’d been, how guilty he had felt. “I never would have told you not to. I never would have made you stay pregnant if you didn’t want to be. You didn’t have to lie. And you don’t have to take it out on Charlie!”

“I couldn’t be sure, now could I?” Rachel says. “And perhaps if Charlotte had a better personality, she and I would get along more easily.” She stands up. “Was that all?”

“Eliza thinks if Charlie could sing, you might start liking her,” Finn says, his voice cold. 

“It would be nice if _one_ of them could sing,” Rachel says carelessly. “Don’t you think?”

“Do you even listen to yourself?” Finn asks, but Rachel is already turning away to walk out of the room. “Why can’t you just love them like they are?”

“Good night,” Rachel calls over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Finn mutters to himself. “Good something, anyway.”


	3. Not Like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel has a plan for the next few months of her life. Life doesn't always go according to plan.

Rachel frowns at the clock, then deepens her frown into an exaggerated pout. “I have to go,” she says, trying to sound as sad as possible. She does have to leave, has to make an appearance at her apartment for Finn and the girls, regardless of what she’d like to do, which is stay with Zachary. 

The time may have come, she knows, for her to think about leaving Finn. Six years of marriage and two children later, not to mention a drastic career change for Finn, and no one could fault her for filing under irreconcilable differences. Rachel can make sure the appropriate bloggers and other media sources are properly informed, perhaps with hints of Finn’s infidelity littered through their releases. She and Eliza can leave and once a month or so has passed, move in with Zachary. After the school year finishes for Eliza, or even as soon as she can find another part and leave _Milk_. 

“A shame as always, Miss Rachel,” Zachary says languidly, still lying on the bed. 

“It is.” Rachel sighs heavily. “At least tonight was Monday, so I was able to stay a little longer.”

“Indeed,” Zachary agrees. “Indeed it is. Travel home safely.”

“I’ll call a cab,” Rachel says, and she picks up her phone as she says that. She gets dressed in silence, then turns back to Zachary. “Wednesday night?”

“Yes, indeed,” Zachary says, rolling toward the nightstand to pick up his half-smoked joint from earlier and relight it. 

Rachel shakes her head and leans over to give him a kiss. “Bye!” She heads down to the street, waiting inside the building for her cab to appear. She’ll wait until after Thanksgiving, and after Hanukkah as well. That will give her time, over Hanukkah, to prepare her dads, and why shouldn’t she get one last year’s worth of gifts from Finn and his family? She is the mother of Carole’s grandchildren, after all. The taxi pulls up and Rachel puts up her umbrella as she hurries to it and gets in. Maybe in just a little while, she won’t have to leave each night. 

 

Rachel blinks at the sunlight. By the time she'd gotten home the night before, she had been too tired to notice the curtains. In the morning light, though, she notices, and she scowls. Finn knows that she needs the curtains pulled every night, with her schedule. She rolls over, convinced it's early enough that Finn should still be around, and stares at the empty half of the bed. The clock tells her that she's not entirely wrong; Finn should still be in the apartment, at least, and the girls as well. It's quiet, though, and Rachel huffs to herself as she gets out of bed and pulls the curtains shut. She walks through the apartment and shrugs; they had probably spent the night with the fucking Hummels.

Back in bed, Rachel sets her alarm for two hours later and ignores the messages waiting on her phone. When she wakes up with her alarm, she can tell no one's been by, not even to get anything for Eliza's day at school. She sighs and picks up her phone, trying to remember what time her hair appointment is. There's a message from Mike, however, about a choreography rehearsal.

"The show's been running for almost three years," she mutters, rolling her eyes. She starts to send a message back, asking if she can skip it, when she sees the second message, that Mike would like her and her understudy to stay a little extra, even, since he knows Rachel's looking to move on relatively soon.

Rachel sighs. It is true, just as she thought the night before, that she’d like to move on to another show. Oh, she can sign a contract for a month at a time, or even a week at a time, and she’ll do that for a bit longer, but she’s ready to leave _Milk_. Ready to take on a leading role. She sends back a message to Mike that she will be there, and then reschedules her hair appointment for the following afternoon. So much for her free Tuesday. 

She gets dressed and then heads down the hall to the kitchen. Nothing seems out of place until she glances into the girls' room and realizes that it's not just Eliza's schoolbag or Charlotte's diaper bag missing. There's a couple of other bags gone, and Eliza's suitcase, and Rachel frowns. Maybe she forgot about a trip. It'll no doubt put Eliza behind in her schoolwork and her extracurriculars, but a few quiet days aren't something Rachel will object to.

Mike's impromptu rehearsal starts at eleven; they break at one for lunch, then everyone else leaves at three, leaving just Rachel and her understudy. Just before everyone leaves, Rachel notices that Mike gets a message that seems to make him very relaxed for a bit. After the first thirty minutes or so with Rachel and her understudy, though, Mike seems almost jumpy, like he's waiting for something, and Rachel sighs mentally. It’s bad enough she’s spending her off day doing this, and Mike isn’t even giving it his full attention.

Twenty-five minutes later, when someone she's never seen before walks onto the stage, Mike gets a strange look on his face. He doesn’t look like he’s waiting any longer, though, and before Rachel can ponder that, the visitor speaks.

"Rachel Berry?" the man says.

"That's me, yes," Rachel says, nodding.

He hands her a thick envelope and looks impatient as she starts to open it. There's a click of a picture and he smiles tightly and nods. "Have a nice day."

"You too!" Mike calls cheerfully after him, then turns to Rachel's understudy. "I think we're done for today," he says to her, and he heads off the stage, jerking his head for Rachel’s understudy to follow him.

Rachel stares at the papers in the envelope, and she works her jaw, ready to start to yell at Mike. The day's rehearsal, the extra time with her and her understudy, it was all a ruse. A ruse so Finn could take Eliza and leave her. Rachel can feel her body tense. She is not someone who gets _left_. She hurries out of the theatre, calling a taxi to take her home, and when she gets there, her thoughts are confirmed. The girls' room is empty. Finn's office is empty, and Finn's clothes are gone. Eliza's favorite cup is gone, and there's a note on the coffee table.

_You should have the paperwork by now. There's a temporary order in it. It's probably easier for everyone if you just accept it. —Syd_

Rachel looks around, looks down at the paperwork in her hands, and she shakes with rage. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. 

 

Three hours later, Rachel has spoken briefly to a lawyer, read through the temporary order, and calmed down enough to place a call, asking Zachary to meet her at the Starbucks closest to her apartment. She goes directly there, ordering a hot tea, and stirs it slowly after she adds honey. She sits by the window, and tries to look on the bright side of things. 

Zachary comes slouching into the Starbucks nearly twenty minutes later than she expected him. He sits down next to her without any outward physical display of affection, though that can soon change, Rachel notes.

“Everything copacetic?” Zachary asks. 

“I have some startling news,” Rachel says. “It’s something of a negative, but I’m trying to find the good within it.” She takes a deep breath. “Finn has left.”

“Oh yeah? He back tomorrow or did you have a few days?”

“No, I mean. He has left, permanently. That rehearsal today was all a set-up so they could empty his and the girls’ things from the apartment.”

“Oh,” Zachary says. “Well. I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later.”

“ _I_ should have been the one to leave him,” Rachel insists, “but I suppose I can get past that. The good news is that you and I don’t have keep things so secretive now. I could move in— oh, or you could move in with me, since Finn and the girls are gone!”

“Whoa, whoa there,” Zachary says, putting up his hands. “Let’s not start acting crazy here or anything.”

“Of course, we might want to wait until January or so. When is your lease up?”

“What are you talking about?” Zachary asks. He sounds almost unreasonably confused; Rachel guesses he must have smoked a joint before meeting her, which also explains his tardiness. 

"Moving in together, of course," Rachel says. "Now that Finn is gone, there's no obstacle."

“Uh, Rachel?” Zachary shifts awkwardly in his chair. “We aren’t moving in together.”

"Why not?" Rachel frowns. "Is something wrong?"

“This thing between you and me, it’s just not that kind of thing,” Zachary says. “You’re a great, classy woman, and spending time with you is great, but it’s not that kind of thing.”

"Well." Rachel narrows her eyes, then stands, tea in hand. "I do believe I've just been divorced and dumped all in the same day."

“Hey, now. Hey,” Zachary says. “I’m not saying we need to stop anything. I’m just saying let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Why change something when everything’s working out just fine for both of us how it is now, yeah?”

“I thought this arrangement was _temporary_ ,” Rachel hisses. “Until we were clear to have something more permanent!”

“I’ve never tried to make it be any more that what it was, Rachel.” Zachary stands, too. “I’m not looking for anything more permanent. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear about that, but I thought you understood how it was.”

“I think it’s best that we not see each other for awhile,” Rachel says stiffly. “I suppose I’ll see you at work.”

“If that’s how you want it,” Zachary concedes with a shrug. 

“It is.” Rachel tosses her head and leaves the Starbucks, heading back up to the apartment. She’s sure that after just a few days without her, Zachary will realize how much he misses her, and understand that moving in together is the next logical step.


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The phone call they've been waiting for (and everything after).

Once Harvey had hit six months, and Kurt had decided not to perform on Monday nights, at least, Kurt and Noah had reactivated their membership in the Chorus, with Hannah regularly babysitting on Monday evenings. It's a rainy November Monday night, just five days since Eliza and Charlie spent the night, and by the time they get back to the Upper West Side, Hannah's gotten nearly eighteen-month-old Harvey to sleep. Noah peeks in the door and sees Harvey asleep in his crib, and then walks back down the hall, leaning against the door as the two of them chat with Hannah while she eats the tacos they grabbed from her favorite stand. Noah pays her for babysitting, even though she always makes a token protest, and Noah's just grabbing himself and Kurt some dessert and sitting down with it in the living room, when Kurt's phone announces that Finn is calling. Kurt puts it on speaker automatically, and Noah notices absently they've only been home for about five or ten minutes. 

“Hello, Finn.”

“Can I come home?” Finn sounds almost like he’s pleading, but there’s a note of hope in his voice, one Noah hasn’t heard in a long time. 

Noah feels like his heart might actually have stopped. He feels Kurt’s hand wrap around his, both of them frozen in place. 

“ _Yes_ ,” Kurt finally answers, his voice soft. “Oh, god, yes, darling.”

“Please,” Noah adds.

“I’ll be there soon. _We’ll_ be there soon,” Finn says. “I love you. I love you guys.”

“We’ll be right here,” Noah says. 

“And we love you.” Kurt pauses and grins at Noah. “Be safe, but— _hurry_.”

“And be good.”

“In thirty minutes, everything’s going to be good,” Finn says, and then he ends the call. 

They spend the next thirty minutes making up the guest room bed for Eliza, checking to make sure they don’t need to order groceries to show up in the morning before breakfast, and checking with each other every two or three minutes to make sure they aren’t living in some kind of dream. If it is a dream, they’re having the same one, and Noah doesn’t particularly want to wake up. 

Finally, there’s a low, soft knock, and they both hurry towards the door, flinging it open even as Eliza has her hand raised to knock again. Finn has Charlie in one arm, his shoulders dangling with the diaper bag and some other bags, a closed umbrella in his other hand. He looks exhausted, but lighter than Noah can remember seeing him for years. Eliza stares up at them, clad in pink rain gear from head to toe – hat, raincoat, boots, and little umbrella. She has her tiny rolling suitcase behind her, and while Eliza and Charlie are both dry, Finn is more or less half-drenched. 

“Hey, guys,” Finn says, his smile starting out tentative, but gradually widening until his eyes scrunch up at the corners. “I finally made it.”

“Yeah, you did,” Noah agrees, grinning at Finn before dropping down to talk to Eliza. “You want to come get ready for bed, Miss Eliza?”

Eliza nods and smiles back at Noah. “Dad said we get to sleep here tonight.”

“Yes, you do,” Kurt answers her, and as Noah takes Eliza down the hall, he can hear Kurt continue speaking to Finn. “Come on, darling, let’s get Charlie down in the crib.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good,” Finn says. He sounds like he’s about to fall over where he’s standing, and Noah’s pretty sure he can hear Kurt reaching out to take Charlie before Finn literally does fall over. 

Eliza’s pajamas are the first thing in her suitcase when Noah unzips it, and she changes clothes and brushes her teeth without complaint. “Will you make me pancakes before school tomorrow, Puck?” she asks. 

“Tell you what,” Noah answers. “I’ll make you pancakes _and_ you don’t have to go to school tomorrow.” Noah doesn’t know for sure what the details are, but he’s pretty sure Eliza doesn’t need to be anywhere that Rachel could find her.

“Really?” Eliza grins. “You’re the best!”

Noah laughs and kisses her forehead. “But you have to go to sleep before you can have pancakes.” He stops in the doorway and dims the light. “Good night, sweet potato.”

Eliza giggles. “Good night Puck!”

Noah stops in the doorway to Harvey’s room just long enough to see that Harv and Char are already tangled up together in the crib, and he continues down to the kitchen, where Finn is sitting at the table in Noah’s robe. It doesn’t really fit; the sleeves stop just below Finn’s elbows, and Noah’s not sure it would reach Finn’s knees even if he were standing. Kurt is at the stove, a bottle of Bailey’s and some chocolate nearby. 

“Eliza’s in bed,” Noah reports, speaking softly and sitting down next to Finn.

“Thanks,” Finn answers. “I know she’s gotta be exhausted. Late night for her.”

“Does she know you’re gone?” Kurt asks softly, mixing the chocolate and the Bailey’s into a mug with the contents of the saucepan, which probably means Irish hot chocolate. 

Finn shakes his head. “She was out. She’s never back before three. She had some dinner party thing, and then she was probably planning on fucking Zachary until three or four,” he says. “I just couldn’t anymore, you guys. I couldn’t.” He rests his head in his hands and slowly shakes it side to side. “I couldn’t.”

Noah slides his hand over Finn’s upper arm. “Well, you know we’re not going to tell you to go back,” he says lightly. “Might have trouble trying it, actually.”

“It’s Manhattan,” Kurt agrees. “There has to be a twenty-four hour delivery service that will bring us some restraints.”

“I’m not leaving,” Finn says. “I’m _home_. I’m stupid, but I’m not crazy. I know she’s probably going to fight me about Eliza, at least, but I couldn’t anymore. I just got too tired.”

Kurt scoffs. “No, she won’t. Not if she has any sense of self-preservation remaining.” He slides the mug in front of Finn. “Drink.” 

“We’ll start making phone calls,” Noah agrees. “She won’t fight.”

“I’d fight,” Finn says. “If someone tried to take them. I’d fight. I’d take them and hide somewhere if I had to.” He picks up the mug and obediently takes a long swallow. 

“You have three things that she doesn’t,” Kurt points out, sitting down on Finn’s other side. “Well, several bank accounts, actually, and two people. Other than us, I mean; you have two people with legal expertise.”

“Syd. We need to call Syd,” Finn says. “I mean, we need to let her know, but… do you think Syd can protect my girls?”

“Do you really think you could stop the combined power of Syd and Tina?” Noah asks. “I wouldn’t want to try.”

“God, no,” Kurt says with a little shudder. “Don’t worry, darling. We’ll start making arrangements in the morning.”

Finn drinks the rest of his mug of Irish hot chocolate in two swallows, and then he lays his arm across the table, and rests his forehead on his arm. “Holy shit, you guys. I finally did it.”

Noah looks over Finn to exchange a grin with Kurt. “Yeah, you did,” Kurt says for both of them. “And now that the kids are all in bed, it’s time to get you to bed.” He raises an eyebrow at Noah, tilting his head towards the counter where his phone is sitting, and it takes Noah a second to catch on to Kurt’s meaning, but Kurt’s right. They need to give Burt and Carole a heads-up, before Rachel has a chance to contact them. 

“Exactly,” Noah agrees, standing up and tugging gently on Finn. “Come with me, darling.” Finn stands up, leaving his mug behind on the table, and lets himself be led to the bedroom. Noah manages to get Finn out of the definitely too small robe and under the covers. Noah kicks off his jeans and throws his blazer on top of the dresser before lying down next to Finn. “K’ll be here in a minute.” He grins again, feeling vaguely guilty because he’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to be so happy about the end of any marriage. But Finn’s home, finally, and their girls are there, and Noah can’t really find a reason _not_ to be happy. “You’re home, darling. All of us are.”

 

As soon as Noah and Finn disappear into the bedroom, Kurt stands, washing the saucepan and mug before picking up his phone. He takes a deep breath and touches Burt’s name on the screen, listening to it ring three times before Burt answers. 

“Kurt?” Burt says. “Everything okay?”

“If she calls,” Kurt says calmly, because if he’s going to keep from sounding giddy, he has to say it quickly and upfront. “They’re here, but please don’t tell her that.”

“What?” Burt asks. “She who? Them who? Son, what’s going on?”

“Rachel. And Finn and the girls. They’re here, and they’re safe and warm and all of that. Knowing Eliza, and knowing Noah, we’re probably having either pancakes or French toast in the morning, no doubt with lots of bacon.”

“Huh?” Burt sounds confused. “Kurt, Finn and the girls are at your place, and Rachel doesn’t know it?”

“He left her, Dad,” Kurt says, rolling his eyes. “You know, pack a bag, leave while she’s gone, call Syd and Tina first thing in the morning, _left her_.”

“Oh.” Burt is quiet for several beats before he adds, “Is everyone okay?”

“They’re all fine. I think Finn’s a bit overwhelmed that he actually did it, but they’re _fine_. Eliza’s probably already asleep and Charlie was asleep when they got here.”

“Oh,” Burt says again. “Well, I guess I’d better tell Carole, then. Maybe tell Finn to turn the ringer off on his phone tonight, just in case.”

“I already turned it off, actually,” Kurt answers. “But I doubt Rachel will notice until at least four or five in the morning. She might not even realize until after we’ve talked to Syd or Tina, now that I think about it.”

“Tell him… I guess tell him good luck?” Burt offers. “And kiss the girls for me.”

“I will,” Kurt answers, even though he has no intention whatsoever of wasting time telling Finn what Burt has or hasn’t said. “Noah or I will call or text you tomorrow and let you know what’s happening.”

“Alright. Thanks for letting me know, I guess.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Dad. Good night.”

“Night, son.”

Kurt ends the call and looks at his phone thoughtfully. Even if it weren't already too late to do anything specific right away, he doesn't want to; there are things far more important. He decides to give a few people a heads up, though, and he calls up a message to Syd, Tina, and Mike and starts to type. 

_We're going to need your assistance tomorrow._

He pauses, taking a deep breath, then nods to himself. He adds one more sentence before [hitting send](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ugcloWnlw7kf-yMxNKZ7aTK9X0un_FJatJQr1a-7ayA/pub) and putting his silenced phone next to Finn's: _Finn's home_.

 

Finn wraps one arm around Puck and pulls him against his chest. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in, exhaling and letting himself relax. “I’m really here, right?” Finn asks quietly. 

“Really, definitely here,” Puck says, nodding his head a little. “And we have locks, so don’t try to escape.”

“Ok, then,” Finn agrees. He tilts his head to rest it on top of Puck’s head and exhales again. “I feel like I can breathe again for the first time in years.”

“Yeah.” Puck runs his fingers slowly over Finn’s side. “It’s good.” 

Kurt comes quietly into the room and sits on the bed, on the other side of Finn, after closing the door. “Hi there, darling.”

“Hi,” Finn says, without opening his eyes. “Puck says I’m really here.”

Kurt laughs. “Yes, you really are.” He moves around for a moment and then lies next to Finn. “Baby, why are you still dressed?”

“Didn’t finish?” Puck answers with a little shrug of his shoulders.

“I was cold,” Finn explains. “He’s warming me up.”

“You can’t be the lizard,” Kurt protests. “That’s my job.”

“Two lizards for one evening?” Puck suggests, but he does sit up briefly before lying back down, his clothes completely off. 

“I’ll be the alligator,” Finn says, resettling his arm around Puck again and cracking his eye enough to give Kurt a half-hearted glare. “You can’t keep me from being the alligator.”

“Does that make you shoes?” Puck asks. 

“Briefcase.” Kurt laughs and then presses his lips against Finn’s neck. “How about you just be our Finn?”

“I was gonna say I was holding out for being a belt, but I think being your Finn’s probably good, too,” Finn says. He tilts his head down to kiss Kurt’s forehead. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.” Kurt sounds like he’s barely managing not to laugh more as he speaks. “I’m so happy.”

“Me, too,” Finn says. “I’m so happy, too. I’m _home_ , you guys. I’m home.”

“Yep.” Puck nuzzles against him. “Welcome home. We’re throwing you a party.” 

“Can the party happen right here in this bed?” Finn asks.

“Oh, that was sort of an integral part of the party plan,” Puck says. “Luckily we’re all adhering to the dress code already.”

“Starting Tuesday early?” Finn shifts position slightly so he can pull Puck up to him for a kiss. 

“Problem with that?” Puck asks, leaning in for a second kiss. “I mean, we could always stop, nap, and set an alarm for midnight, but that seems like a lot of work.”

“Mmm, nah,” Finn says. “Kurt? What do you think?”

“I think that seems like quite a bit of work for little purpose.” Kurt slides his hand slowly down Finn’s arm. “Don’t you think?”

“We probably get a pass on having extra Tuesday hours this week, right?” Puck says. “It’s not every rainy November Monday that Finn comes home, or anything.”

“It’ll be every rainy November Monday after this, though. I’ll come home after work on every November Monday,” Finn says. 

“The non-November Mondays, too,” Kurt says. “And the non-Monday non-November days.”

“True,” Puck says smugly. 

“Even if they’re not rainy,” Finn agrees. 

“Like I said, welcome home, asshole,” Puck says. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, asshole,” Finn says.

Kurt shifts, putting his lips next to Finn’s year. “Darling, I have a question for you.”

Finn smiles and closes his eyes again. “Yeah?” 

“Like.” Kurt stops and swallows. “Like the first time?”

Finn’s smile widens. “Yeah. Like the first time,” he agrees. 

“You just want my ass,” Puck says with a laugh.

“Like that’s new,” Finn says, smiling even more, if that’s possible. “Asshole.”

“Good point,” Puck concedes, and he tugs on Finn’s hair, pulling him into a long kiss. “Anyway, I wasn’t complaining.”

“No, no complaining.” Kurt runs the fingers of one hand through Finn’s hair. “Nothing to complain about.”

“Still feels like a dream,” Finn murmurs, leaning into the touch of Kurt’s hand. 

“No dreaming, either,” Kurt says, kissing Finn softly. 

Puck tugs on Finn’s pierced nipple. “Or if it is a dream, it’s a shared one, and we can all decide not to wake up.”

“Fuck. Yeah, that’s good,” Finn says. “That works.”

“Not waking up?” Puck asks. “Or this?” He tugs again. “Or, no, wait. Both?”

“I suspect both,” Kurt says. “Darling?”

“Mmhmm,” Finn says in agreement. 

“Good choice.” Kurt rolls to the side briefly, then back against Finn, nudging at his side. “That way,” he says, and there’s a brief pause before he puts a plastic bottle in Finn’s hand. 

Finn rolls onto his side, nudging Puck with his elbow. Once Puck turns onto his side, too, Finn kisses the back of Puck’s neck. 

“That’s good,” Puck says quietly. “All good.”

“Yes, we are,” Kurt agrees. 

“Yep,” Finn says, giving Puck another nudge. “Keep rolling, baby.”

“Okay, okay,” Puck says, complying. “Better?”

Finn levers himself up onto his knees, kneeling between Puck’s legs. “I don’t know. You tell me,” Finn says. He pours some lube into his hand and slicks up his cock, pushing hard and fast into Puck. “Is that better?”

“Fuck. _Yes_ ,” Puck says with a little grunt. 

“Is that how you want things, darling?” Kurt asks. “Fast?”

“This time,” Finn says definitively. “We have time for slow later.”

“Darling,” Kurt says as he pushes his cock into Finn. “We have all the time.”

“Damn straight,” Puck agrees. “Are you two going to move?”

“Not yet,” Kurt replies, putting his hands on Finn’s hips and holding them. Finn whines a little, then leans forward, resting his chest on Puck’s back and bracing himself with one hand pressed against the bed near Puck’s head.

“When?” Finn asks. 

“Just a second,” Kurt says, more softly. “Here we are, my loves.”

Finn exhales loudly and lets his body untense even more. He kisses the back of Puck’s neck again, tucking his head down to kiss Puck’s shoulders and upper back. “Yeah,” Finn says. “Here we are. We’re here, all of us.”

“Now you’re stuck with us,” Puck says. “Right where you belong.”

“Exactly where you belong,” Kurt agrees. “ _Now_ we can move.” He starts moving slowly, then quickly goes faster.

Finn lets Kurt’s thrusts move him forward, deeper into Puck. “Fuck,” he breathes against Puck’s neck. “God, Kurt. Don’t stop.”

“Never,” Kurt says, gasping a little at the end of the word. His fingers dig into Finn’s hips as he moves. “Oh, god, darling, baby, _fuck_.”

“Really good,” Puck says, pausing and pushing up into Finn’s thrusts, “at that, yeah.” 

Finn presses his open mouth against the back of Puck’s neck, wrapping his arm—the one he isn’t using to hold himself up—across Puck’s chest and pulling him back onto Finn’s cock even harder. He rocks his hips back towards Kurt and then forward.

“Fuck, baby,” Finn murmurs into the back of Puck’s neck. “So happy I’m home. I’m so fucking happy, baby. Love you so much. Love both of you _so_ much.” He slides his hand down Puck’s chest to wrap around Puck’s cock, stroking it in time to his and Kurt’s thrusts. 

“Come for me, my loves,” Kurt murmurs. “Come for me, now.”

Finn cries out loudly against Puck’s neck as he starts to come, his hand moving faster on Puck’s cock. Puck pushes into Finn’s hand as he comes with a whine. Finn lets his weight drop against Puck’s back, and Kurt thrusts a final time into Finn, coming hard and then falling on top of Finn. 

“Pancake,” Puck mutters a few moments later. 

“No, you’re french toast,” Finn says. “Kurt’s the pancake.”

“But I’m the one getting flattened,” Puck says. “Love you and all, mind.”

“We could let you be less flat, maybe,” Kurt says, slowly sliding to the side and then tugging on Finn. Finn rolls off of Puck, pulling Puck with him as he goes, until the three of them are all curled together. 

“Thanks,” Puck says, lifting his head slightly and grinning. 

“So good,” Kurt says quietly. 

“Love you guys. Love you both so much,” Finn says. “I’m so happy.”

 

For just a few seconds after Noah wakes up, he doesn't remember anything except feeling happy. No, not just happy, but content. Peaceful. It takes another few seconds for the events of the previous evening to roll back into his mind. Finn's there. Finn's _home_ , finally, and the three of them are in bed together, and that's how it's going to be. Not just every once in awhile.

It takes about fifteen or twenty seconds before the sound of Charlie kvetching registers, and Noah realizes that's probably why he woke up in the first place. She still gets a bottle in the middle of the night, and Noah slides out of bed as quietly as he can, pulling on a pair of sweatpants before going to Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie-girl," Noah whispers, scooping her up quickly so she won't wake up Harvey, too. "Hey, Char. I'm here." He pauses, grinning to himself. "Papa's here," he says even more quietly. "Let's go get your bottle from the kitchen, yeah?"

Charlie doesn't fuss while he warms the bottle up, just grins and babbles at him. Noah sits in the living room with her while she eats, staring out the window and thinking.

Finn's home. The three of them, for good, and if Noah's honest, he can hear the word 'triad' repeating itself in his head. Triad, triad, triad. It's what they are and what they've been trying to be, imperfectly, and Noah laughs out loud, startling Charlie.

"Sorry, Char. Guess what? No more package deal, either."

Charlie burps and pushes the bottle away, and Noah laughs.

"Okay, okay. Let's go back to bed, Charlie-girl." He puts the bottle in the sink and heads towards the bedroom. She curls up next to Harvey again and smiles sleepily, and Noah smiles back. "See you in the morning." He peeks at Eliza, sleeping soundly, before heading back to his own bedroom, where he stands in the doorway, just looking. Kurt's on his side, facing Finn, and all Noah can think is that they look as content as he feels. They're his, both of them, and he's both of theirs, and he can't stop himself from laughing out loud again.

There's legal shit to figure out with the girls, and the apartment's a little small for six of them, long-term, and they've got to figure out how to balance all of the relationships within the triad, and it's a lot to do, maybe, but it's happy. It's all good, all coming out of something very good, something they've all wanted and waited for. 

He walks quietly back to the bed, sliding in beside Finn, and he puts his arm over Finn, nudging at his shoulder gently. "Finn," he whispers. "Hey, c'mon, wake up."

“Are the kids ok?” Finn murmurs, eyes still closed. “Is everybody ok?”

“Everyone’s _fine_ ,” Noah says, grinning. “Gave Char her bottle.”

“She drink it all?” Finn rolls towards Noah, nuzzling his face against Noah’s hair. 

“Most of it, yeah. Then she pushed it away and burped.” Noah laughs quietly. “Everyone’s sleeping. Except us.”

“Yeah,” Finn agrees. He puts his arm around Noah’s waist and pulls him closer. “Except us. We’re awake.”

“Mmmhmm.” Noah puts his lips against Finn’s ear. “You know what I realized?”

“That we need to find out if they make bigger beds than this?” Finn asks. “’Cause that’s what I was thinking about.”

Noah laughs. “That too, yeah. Maybe we’ll look into that later. But no, I was thinking. No more fucking package deal, darling.”

“Yeah?” Finn says. “Yeah. That’s right. That’s— that’s fucking _awesome_!” His arm moves, his hand traveling from Noah’s back down to his ass, where he squeezes a little. 

“Yeah, it is,” Noah agrees. “It really is.” He tightens the arm around Finn and presses against him. “Oh, and hey, it’s Tuesday now.”

“And we’re already following the rules,” Finn points out. “See?” He runs his hand from Noah’s ass to his thigh and back up again. “No clothes at all.”

“Good of us to comply, and all of that,” Noah says. He shifts to run his tongue over Finn’s nipple, then grins at him. “And there’s always just enough light streaming in, anyway.”

Finn shifts on the bed again, sliding his other arm under Noah so that both arms are wrapped around him, holding Noah close. He rolls onto his back, pulling Noah with him, then runs both his hands up and down Noah’s back. Noah moves one hand up, threading his fingers in Finn’s hair, and he kisses Finn slowly. 

After a few minutes of kissing, Finn pulls away slightly and smiles at Noah. “I really missed you, Puck,” he says. 

“Missed you, too,” Noah says, then shakes his head with a grin. “You ever gonna call me Noah?”

Finn shrugs, tightening his arms around Noah. “Maybe. Might be a little easier to do now.”

“Yeah?” Noah runs the fingers of his other hand down Finn’s cheek and jaw. “Easier?”

“Yeah. You know. Noah belongs to New York. Puck belonged to Lima,” Finn says. Even in the dim light coming in through the window, Noah can see the blush spreading across Finn’s cheeks. “It sounds stupid when I try to explain it,” Finn half-grumbles.

“Nah,” Noah says. “You could call me, I don’t know. Lovestudmuffin or something, I’d still be yours.”

“Yeah, not gonna call you that,” Finn says. “I don’t know. It’s just… if I let go of that name, you know? I just couldn’t.”

“Good, ’cause I wasn’t really that fond of it,” Noah admits. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Finn says, then grins and adds, “Asshole. I can still call you that, right?”

“Probably think you were pissed at me if you didn’t.” Noah laughs. “Thanks,” he adds, more quietly. 

“For what?”

“Coming home. Everything.” 

“Wish I hadn’t taken so long to get my shit together,” Finn says. “So, thank _you_ for not giving up on me.”

“Knew you’d figure it out eventually,” Noah teases. “I mean, you could only hold out for so long when, you know, _this_.” He thrusts down a little, smirking. 

Finn slides both his hands to Noah’s ass and squeezes, pulling Noah down against him harder. “Yeah, yeah. It was definitely the reason I came home.”

“Makes sense to me.” Noah laughs and kisses Finn again, harder than before. 

“Mmhmm,” Finn says against Noah’s lips. 

Noah tugs a little on Finn’s hair, pushing down again and deepening the kiss. He slides his other hand down to rest against Finn’s side, and slowly pulls back. “So, you want to fuck me?” he asks, grinning. 

“Mmhmm,” Finn repeats. “Just like this. I want you right here on me.” He reaches out for the the bottle of lube on the bedside table and hands it to Noah. 

“Making me do all the work, asshole?” Noah says, snorting as he opens the bottle and pours a little onto his hand. He takes Finn’s cock in both hands and slowly slides his hands up and down. “Maybe you’re too sleepy, then.”

“Nah,” Finn counters. “Just thought it sounded kind of awesome.” He grips Noah by the hips and pulls on him. “Come on, asshole.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Noah shifts forward and slowly lowers himself down. “Like this? I’m not going too fast, am I?” 

“Oh, _fuck_ ,” is Finn’s answer. His hands tighten on Noah’s hips. “Fuck. No, that’s good.”

“If you’re sure.” Noah slides the rest of the way down and then sits still, slowly trailing his fingers over Finn’s chest. “You feel so good, darling.” 

Finn lifts his hips off the bed, bouncing Noah around. “Move,” Finn whines. “Don’t just sit there.”

“Like I said, making me do all the work,” Noah says with a laugh. He pushes himself up a little, grinning down at Finn. “Should I move faster?” 

Finn nods, but also uses his grip on Noah’s hips to move Noah up higher, then pull him down again. “Yes, faster.”

Noah nods, still grinning, and starts moving faster, one hand resting on Finn’s chest. He moves his hand towards Finn’s nipple, pulling a little. “So fucking good,” he says softly. Finn yelps and bucks his hips, eyes closing. 

“Fuck, baby,” Finn says. 

“Yeah,” Noah agrees, nodding a little as he moves. “I know.”

Finn keeps rocking his hips up off the bed. One of his hands travels down Noah’s thigh and then back up to wrap around Noah’s cock, moving almost roughly. “Baby,” Finn starts babbling. “Fuck, love you so much. Fuck, Puck, _Noah_ , love you.”

“I love you, Finn,” Noah says, putting his other hand on top of the hand still on his hips. “Love you.” He closes his eyes and moves just a little bit faster. “Feel so good.”

“Baby,” Finn says. “Come on. Come on. Fuck, baby.” His hand moves faster on Noah’s cock. 

“Fuck,” Noah whines, starting to come and falling forward until he catches himself with the hand not on Finn’s chest. He keeps moving on Finn, as fast as he can manage as he comes. Finn thrusts up into Noah a few more times before crying out, pulling Noah against his chest. 

Noah opens his eyes just enough to look at Finn’s face for a few seconds, then he closes them again and buries his face against Finn’s neck. “M’so happy,” he mutters after a moment.

“Happy doesn’t even cover it,” Finn says. “I don’t have a big enough word.”

“K probably does,” Noah says after a moment. “Words are his job.” He puts a hand through Finn’s hair again. “Sleep, darling. We’ll all be here in the morning.”

 

The giggles are what wake Kurt up, first. He can hear Eliza giggling about something, and as he listens, he can make out the sound of PBS and Harvey repeating “Towly!” He can hear Noah saying something, probably to Eliza, and the sound of the refrigerator opening and closing a few times. Kurt smiles and turns on his side, staring at Finn. 

He’s sleeping soundly, and when Kurt puts a hand on his arm, he doesn’t even flinch. Kurt scoots even closer, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of Finn breathing. It blends with the sounds of Noah and Eliza cooking, of Harvey and Charlie watching television, and all of it combined is one of the most reassuring things Kurt has ever heard. 

Kurt opens his eyes again, looking at the time and then out the window. The rain from the night before is gone, the sun’s out, and even if it’s probably chilly, Kurt thinks that, for once, he can probably handle that. He knows they have a lot of things to organize and discuss before the day ends, but it’s still early, and breakfast, from what he can hear, is definitely not yet ready. It’s possible, in fact, that it might be more like brunch before it’s ready, if he gauges it by the sounds from the kitchen, and he shakes his head, smiling ruefully. Everyone’s happy. 

“Hi, darling,” Kurt whispers. “Good morning.” 

“Hi,” Finn answers, his eyes flickering open. “Sleep ok?”

"Very well, in fact," Kurt says with a smile. "You?”

“Woke up a couple of times,” Finn says. He smiles broadly, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. “Not that I mind.”

"Waking doesn't necessarily preclude sleeping well, does it?" Kurt slides his hand down Finn's arm. "Nice way to wake up, too."

“Yeah,” Finn says. He lets out a slow breath, his eyes closing slightly. “I can get used to this.”

“I should hope so,” Kurt says with a giggle. “But I think I can too.”

“Want to do some more not-sleeping in this bed?” Finn asks, opening his eyes again and grinning at Kurt. 

“I will assume you mean as opposed to somewhere other than the bed,” Kurt retorts. 

Finn’s expression turns thoughtful and he nods one to himself. “I mean, wouldn’t be the first floor we’ve been on, if you’d rather there instead of here.”

Kurt giggles. “The bed is fine, though. I was more thinking shower than floor.”

“Are you trying to tell me I need a shower?”

“Are you arguing with me?” Kurt asks, raising an eyebrow but still smiling. “Clean up’s easier that way, you know.”

“Ok, bossofme,” Finn says. “Lead the way.”

Kurt gets out of bed, pulling on Finn’s arm gently and heading towards the bathroom. “I think we’re getting.” He stops and sniffs as he turns on the water. “Pancakes or waffles. And bacon.”

“Yeah, but that’s cheating. There’s always bacon.” Finn steps into the shower before the water is completely warm and shivers. “It’s still cold.”

“Sometimes there’s ham or sausage instead,” Kurt points out. “But today is definitely bacon.” He sticks his hand under the water and shakes his head. “Yes, it is.” 

Finn grabs Kurt’s hand and starts to pull him into the shower. “I can keep you warm,” he promises.

“Oh, that, I’m sure of.” Kurt steps in, pressing close against Finn. “But I won’t blame you if you let the water assist.”

Finn adjusts the knob, turning so the still-cool water hits his back instead of Kurt. He takes Kurt’s chin in his hand and leans over enough to touch their lips together briefly. “Want me to wash your back for you?” Finn offers. 

“Just my back?” Kurt asks, pulling Finn back down into another, longer kiss. Finn nods without breaking the kiss, his hand reaching out towards the shower caddy hanging from the shower head and fumbling for the bottle of body wash. He continues kissing Kurt while pouring bodywash into his hand, putting the bottle back, lathering up the bodywash, and running his hands over Kurt’s back. 

Finn finally pulls away to say, “Ok, now turn and rinse.”

“You could have just turned us around?” Kurt says, grinning as he rinses off. “Anywhere you need washed?”

“Uh.” Finn looks down at his chest and stomach. “Puck left me a little bit gross.”

“Oh, I’m sure it was all his fault.” Kurt giggles. “You didn’t help at all.” 

“I just laid there!” Finn protests. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Anything at all?” Kurt says disbelievingly. “Well, that’s a new one, darling.” He picks up a washcloth and gets it wet before slowly running it down Finn’s chest. “I’m not sure I’d go around advertising it, either.”

“Why would I advertise? I don’t need anybody else,” Finn says. “I’ve got the two of you. It’d be a waste of ad space.”

“But then I could have the satisfaction of telling them to go away,” Kurt explains, half-smirking. “But it’s true. You don’t need anyone else.” Kurt finishes carefully cleaning Finn off, then puts his arms around Finn’s neck. “Love you, darling.”

“Love you, Kurt,” Finn replies. “What do you want now?” He runs the back of his hand down Kurt’s side. 

“I want you,” Kurt says softly. “I want you inside of me. I want you kissing me while you fuck me.” 

“You’re gonna have to hold on tight, then, because it’s slippery in here,” Finn says. 

Kurt hands him the bottle of waterproof lube, because in the end, Noah had been right: no one needed to go through their day with a scented ass. “I thought slippery was part of the fun,” Kurt says. 

“Not if my shoulder starts to give out and I drop you on your ass on the floor of the shower,” Finn points out. He pours lube over his fingers and steps closer to Kurt again, kneeling slightly to put his hand between Kurt’s legs and slide one finger inside him. As he keeps moving his finger, Finn drops carefully onto both of his knees, taking Kurt’s cock into his mouth. 

“Darling,” Kurt murmurs, putting his hands in Finn’s wet hair. “Oh, god, Finn darling.”

Finn hums in agreement, wrapping his lips and tongue around Kurt’s cock and slowly working his way down to the base while he pushes a second finger inside of Kurt. 

“You should be inside me now,” Kurt decides, letting his hands drop onto Finn’s shoulders. “So good, darling.” 

Finn responds by sliding his fingers in and out of Kurt a little faster a few more times before withdrawing them. He laps at the head of Kurt’s cock a final time before standing and pouring more lube into his hand, coating his own cock. Finn hooks his right arm under Kurt’s left knee and helps Kurt pull himself up so his legs can wrap around Finn as Finn pushes inside Kurt. Finn leans forward so the wall can take some of their weight. 

“Good?” Finn asks. 

“Very good,” Kurt says, pressing back against the wall and grabbing the corner shelf with his right hand. He rocks his hips forward, his legs tightening around Finn’s back with the movement. Kurt closes his eyes for a long moment and exhales. “Finn. Missed you, missed this.”

Finn’s arm lifts Kurt’s leg higher as he thrusts into Kurt, leaning forward to kiss him deeply before moving his mouth along Kurt’s jaw, down to his neck, and back up to his ear. “Missed you, Kurt. You feel so fucking good. It’s perfect. Love you so much, you’re so sweet, so sweet to me,” Finn murmurs into Kurt’s ear. “You tasted so sweet and you feel so good.”

“Yours, you know that, yours, and you’re mine,” Kurt whispers. “Need you, darling, fuck, it’s all so good.” Kurt’s fingers tighten around the shelf and in Finn’s hair as he pushes slightly to meet each of Finn’s thrusts. “Oh, god, it _is_ perfect, Finn, _fuck_.”

Finn’s left hand slips between them to wrap around Kurt’s cock, and Finn moves it out of sync to his thrusts while he keeps talking into Kurt’s ear. “Gonna make you come for me,” Finn mutters. “Gonna make you come for me, feel you coming all over me, feel you get so tight.” He snaps his hips upward, thrusting harder into Kurt. “Gonna fill you up, Kurt. Just tell me when. Come for me and tell me when.”

“Yes,” Kurt almost hisses, nodding a little. “Fuck, darling, you’re— you feel so good. So good.” Kurt forces himself to open his eyes, staring at Finn’s face. “Oh, god, now, Finn, _now_.” 

The expression on Finn’s face is almost ecstatic, his hand still stroking Kurt’s cock, and he cries out loudly as he thrusts up into Kurt. Kurt feels Finn start to come just as Kurt does, and Kurt registers that he’s yelling, too, limbs trying to pull Finn even closer. Finn’s head drops forward, his face resting against Kurt’s neck as his body shudders.

Kurt slowly drops one leg, letting Finn gently ease the other one down as well. “So good, Finn,” Kurt murmurs. “I love you so much.”

Finn is still slumped against Kurt, his face pressed into Kurt’s shoulder, and his voice is very quiet when he speaks. “I love you, too. I’m so sorry it took me so long. I’m so sorry, Kurt.”

“It’s okay. Everything’s good,” Kurt says. “Everything. Finn, this— this is our life. It’s all good.”

“I know, I know,” Finn whispers into Kurt’s shoulder. His own shoulders shake as he puts his arms around Kurt and holds him. “I’m still so sorry. I love you so much. I love you and Puck so much, and all I wanted to do was come home.”

“And you did. You’re home.”

“I’m home,” Finn agrees. “I’m finally home.”

 

“Let’s make breakfast!” is the third sentence out of Eliza’s mouth, right behind “Good morning, Puck!” and “I don’t want to watch that show.” Noah shakes his head and takes her offered hand as she leads him into the kitchen. 

“They’ll watch television for a bit,” Eliza assures him, and Noah nods, trying not to smile. Considering Charlie’s in the exersaucer and Harvey won’t leave the room without Charlie, that’s probably a very fair assessment. 

“Yep,” Noah finally says. “What do you want to make?” 

“Pancakes? But we had pancakes Thursday morning.”

“That’s true. What about waffles?”

“Yes! And bacon!”

“Of course,” Noah says, trying to sound affronted, but Eliza just giggles at him. It takes them a bit of time to get the waffle batter prepared, since Eliza gets each ingredient from the refrigerator individually, and then they start the waffle iron heating. The bacon is sizzling nicely when Noah hears Finn cry out, followed almost immediately by Kurt, and he shakes his head with a grin. 

“Puck?” Eliza says a second later.

“What is it, sweet potato?”

“Why are Dad and Kurt yelling?” Eliza asks. 

“Oh, um.” Noah shakes his head again. “How’d I end up being the one to get this question?” he mutters under his breath, then turns back to Eliza. “They’re just really happy.”

“Why?”

“Because you and Charlie and your dad are here,” Noah says carefully. 

Eliza nods, and they have three waffles warming in the oven before she turns back to Noah. “Are we going to stay here, Puck?”

“Yeah, sweet potato, you are.” Noah kneels down in front of her. “How does that sound?” He hopes he’s not promising too much, but none of them are going to let Rachel take either of the girls. 

“All of us? With you?” 

“All of you with us,” Noah agrees. 

“Okay!” Eliza watches Noah remove another waffle and then takes his hand. “What about Mommy? Does she have to come here? And can we have a picnic in the living room?”

“Hmm, a picnic,” Noah says, stalling a little. “I suppose we could, this once. Maybe we’ll get a shower curtain instead of a blanket.”

Eliza laughs. “That’s so funny!” She watches Noah for a minute. “What about Mommy?”

“No, Eliza. Your mommy isn’t going to live here.” 

“Okay.” Eliza gets quiet for a minute, and Noah adds another waffle to the stack. “Does that mean I can slouch?”

“What?” Noah asks. “What do you mean?”

“Mommy always said not to slouch. But I don’t think I was slouching.”

“You can sit however you want to, sweet potato. Within reason. No sitting on the ceiling, okay?”

Eliza laughs again, and Noah returns the grin. “You’re so silly, Puck!”

“Hey, I have to be good at something besides cooking bacon,” Noah teases. “Let’s go get the shower curtain from the hall bathroom.” 

“Yay! Breakfast picnic!”

 

Finn pulls on a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, the only clothes he really has at Kurt and Puck’s apartment – or _their_ apartment, now, since nothing in the world will make Finn leave now that he’s finally come home. Kurt’s still working on his hair, so Finn wanders out of the bedroom and into the living room. Puck and Eliza have a shower curtain spread out on the floor, already set up with syrup, butter, and plates. 

“Hey,” Finn says to Charlie, who is in the exersaucer, and Harvey, who is sitting at the edge of the shower curtain, close enough to Charlie to grab her foot. “Good morning, Charlie. Good morning, Harvey.”

“Da!” Charlie says, bouncing in her exersaucer seat.

“Good. Towly!” Harvey says with a grin, then points at the plates. “Pates!”

“Those sure are plates, buddy,” Finn says. “And that’s Charlie, alright. Did you have some bacon?”

“Not yet!” Puck calls from the kitchen. “Have a seat or something, we’re having a breakfast picnic.”

“Is Eliza in there with you?”

“Nope!” Eliza says, also from the kitchen, and then she giggles. “I’m sitting on the ceiling!”

“Don’t leave footprints!” Finn calls back. He looks down at Charlie and Harvey again. “Is your sister sitting on the ceiling? Where’s Eliza?”

“Ha!” Charlie chirps. “Sah!”

“Yep, Harvey’s here and so is Eliza,” Finn agrees. “Everybody’s here. That’s happy, huh?”

Harvey grins really widely at the word ‘happy’, and claps his hands. Charlie turns her head to look around the room and puts her hands out like she’s questioning what she sees. “A da?” Charlie asks.

“Who are you looking for, Charlie?” Finn says. 

“Daddy,” Harvey answers, looking up at Finn. “Towly Daddy.”

Finn can’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. “Oh yeah? Charlie, are you looking for Daddy?”

Charlie bounces in her seat excitedly. “Da! Da! Da!”

“I think you’re right, Harvey,” Finn tells Harvey. “I think she’s looking for Daddy.”

“I have waffles!” Eliza says suddenly, walking into the living room very slowly with a platter stacked high with waffles. “Look at the waffles, Dad.”

“Did you make those?” Finn asks. “Those are some good-looking waffles. You’re gonna put your Puck out of a job, making waffles that look that good. You’ll have to cook all the waffles forever.”

“Puck and I made them together. He wouldn’t let me fry the bacon.” Eliza carefully puts the platter in the middle of the shower curtain. “But he said I can carry the bacon!”

“Carry doesn’t mean eat, though,” Finn says. “Some of the bacon has to actually make it in here to me, got it?”

“Maybe!” Eliza giggles. “Puck said we get to stay here!”

“That’s right,” Finn says. “Are you ok with that? Staying here forever?”

Eliza nods. “Can we get my toys and bring them here?”

“Yep. We’ll go today and get your toys and your clothes, anything you want,” Finn says. “Yours, mine, and Charlie’s.”

“Okay.” Eliza goes back into the kitchen, presumably for the bacon, and Kurt comes down the hall. 

“Are we having a picnic?” he asks. “Hi, Charlie girl. Hi, Harvey.” 

“Da!” Charlie shrieks. “Da!” She bounces up and down in the exersaucer even more enthusiastically, her arms outstretched. “Up!”

“That’s a new one,” Finn notes. “You’d better pick her up, Kurt. She’s been talking about you since I came in here.”

“Nice things?” Kurt says to Charlie, picking her up out of the exersaucer. “Are you going to eat a waffle?”

Charlie pats Kurt’s face happily and repeats, “Da!”

“You were right, Harvey,” Finn says to Harvey. “That’s definitely who she was asking for.”

“Towly Daddy,” Harvey says again. 

“That’s right,” Kurt says, smiling at Charlie. “Towly’s Daddy.”

“You sure are,” Finn says. He knows he’s got to be beaming at Kurt, he’s smiling so widely, but he’s too happy to care. “Charlie’s Daddy.”

“Bacon!” Eliza announces, coming back with a plate of bacon, and Puck walks behind her with a stack of paper cups and a jug of orange juice. 

“Hey, Harvey,” Puck says, dropping down beside him. “Who’s that?” He points towards Finn. “Who’s that, huh?”

“Dad!” Harvey answers, like it’s not the first time someone’s asked him that question.

“Da!” Charlie says, seemingly in agreement.

“You guys,” Finn says softly. His eyes feel a little teary, but he blinks hard a few times and doesn’t stop smiling. “That’s right, Harvey. You and Charlie are so smart. You know who everybody is, don’t you?” 

Puck puts down the cups and orange juice and stands back up, stepping towards Finn. “Of course they do.” He puts his arm around Finn’s waist and leans his head against Finn’s shoulder. “You want to try eating waffles and syrup while cross-legged on a shower curtain?”

 

After the living room is mostly free of sticky spots, and the three kids are as well, Kurt decides to actually look at their silenced phones while Finn and Noah figure out something for the kids to do in one of the bedrooms. 

The first message Kurt sees on his own phone is from Syd, with the time that she and Tina are planning to arrive, and Kurt checks the time to note they have twenty minutes or so. There’s also a message from Mike, that he’ll be holding a choreography rehearsal that will keep Rachel occupied for several hours. Kurt notes the times, then stifles a grin at the link Mike also sent. ‘Reliable and quick movers!’ was the note attached, and Kurt supposes they will need some kind of truck and extra hands to carry things out of the apartment, when they go to get everything. 

The rest of the messages on Kurt’s phone he decides to leave for later, and he picks up Finn’s phone curiously. There are no messages whatsoever from Rachel, which means she either doesn’t care at all or hasn’t put the pieces together just yet. There are a total of seven missed calls from Carole, but only one recorded message, and Kurt decides he should probably listen to it and decide whether or not it should be deleted. 

“Finn, sweetie, it’s Mom. I’m worried about you and the girls. I must be— there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Give me a call so we can chat and figure all of this out.”

Kurt frowns at the phone. The message is almost benign, but the number of missed calls, especially when they hadn’t started until the morning, is more concerning. He decides to leave the message and discuss it with Finn later. Kurt scoops up all three phones, since Noah’s has nothing out of the ordinary, and heads into the living room, sitting on the futon as Noah and Finn reappear. 

“Children happily engaged?” Kurt asks. “Syd and Tina are going to be here in just a few moments, now.”

“Nah, we gave them Puck’s xanax,” Finn says. 

“They’ll be really calm,” Noah agrees. “What’s the plan?”

“Mike’s called a choreography rehearsal for several hours. Oh, and suggested a moving service.”

“We should have plenty of time, then,” Finn says. “I just need to get the rest of the girls’ stuff. I don’t think we need any of the furniture, do we?”

“We should take anything we might need later, or that the girls might miss,” Kurt says after a moment’s thought. “And you should empty out your office.”

“As much as we like you naked, clothes probably aren’t optional, either,” Noah says, sitting down at the other end of the futon and pulling Finn down between them. 

“Oh, yeah, I guess I need to get my own stuff, too,” Finn says. “Most of my important paperwork’s at my office-office, though, not the office at the apartment.”

“Still no reason to leave it for her,” Noah says. “I’d leave all the kitchen stuff, though, it’s probably been tainted by tofu.” 

“There’s no room here for my office furniture, though.” Finn puts one arm around Noah and the other around Kurt. “I can always replace it later. It was Ikea.”

“We’re probably going to need some kind of storage place, at least temporarily, I think,” Kurt says. “It’s cozy for now and probably until after the holidays are done, but long-term…”

“Long-term we’ll need a bigger place,” Noah agrees. “Six of us in a three-bedroom is a little tight.”

“So, do we want to look for other apartments around here?” Finn asks. 

“We should look at those fancy multi-level places I never in a million years thought we’d ever be able to afford,” Noah suggests, grinning. “They’re practically houses.”

“Yeah,” Finn says, nodding. “That sounds good. I’ve got a little money put away for, you know. Things.”

“Even I know that’s an understatement, darling,” Kurt points out. There’s a knock on the door, and a moment later, Syd calls out through the door. 

“Hey, let your crack legal team in!”

Noah laughs and goes to open the door, Syd and Tina following him back into the living room, and he takes his seat beside Finn again. 

“So, Hudson,” Syd says, obviously trying to hide a grin. “I hear you may need some paperwork drawn up?”

“Seems that way,” Finn says. “What can you do to make sure I keep my girls?”

“I hate to put it this way,” Tina says, “but how much is she really going to fight, Finn? If she thinks she’s getting a deal monetarily, I mean.” 

“Plus there’s at least the doctor’s records from this year,” Syd adds.

“I’ve kept records, too,” Finn says. “All the stuff she’s said to and about the girls. It seemed like a good idea.” He sighs and shakes his head. “How much money do we need to throw at her, do you think?”

“Remember, she thinks you’ve got a fraction of what you actually have,” Syd says. 

“How much does she think she should get, based on what she knows?” Noah asks. “Up it by ten or twenty percent, let her have the apartment, and promise that where she usually spent the first part of the evening won’t come up in the proceedings, so she can milk the press if she wants to try.” 

“I’ll call Meyers and make sure I know what’s where,” Finn says. His brow furrows and he adds, “Or, I’ll tell him he should tell _you_ what’s where, Syd. That’s probably better. You know who has access to what.”

“Right. What we want to do today is get the initial paperwork filed, Rachel served, and put a temporary order in front of her to sign.” Syd pauses to look at something on her tablet before continuing. “So we can draw up a quick draft in just a few moments.” She stops again and exchanges a glance with Tina, who seems to think something’s amusing, and then Syd grins as well. 

“What is it?” Kurt asks suspiciously. 

“Finn’s not going to float away,” Tina says, almost laughing. 

“Huh?” Noah says. 

“You two are almost clinging,” Syd explains. 

Finn looks to his left and right, and then starts to laugh. “Maybe I’m lighter than I realized?”

“We’re not that bad,” Kurt says, even though he realizes that it’s possible the rest of them are correct. 

“Sorry, can’t go anywhere,” Noah says with a shrug. 

“I think I have to stay right here, Syd,” Finn says. 

“Luckily, much can be accomplished from that futon. How long have you _had_ that thing, anyway?” Syd asks. 

“They had it when Mike and I came down for Thanksgiving freshman year. So that’s… fourteen years.”

“It’s not broken,” Noah protests. 

“It’s the futon from the dawn of time,” Finn says. “Dinosaurs have fucked and given birth to baby dinosaurs on this futon.”

“None of us have given birth, and we’re not _that_ old, Finn,” Kurt says, which makes Tina burst into laughter. 

“So that’s a yes on the fucking?” Syd asks. 

“But a no on the dinosaurs,” Finn concedes. 

“So you need Finn to call?” Noah asks. “And K’s itching to organize the troops to empty the apartment.”

“I— might be,” Kurt says. “As long as they don’t want me to figure out the square footage of anything.”

“Probably not,” Noah answers. 

While Finn calls Meyers, Kurt does arrange for a set of movers to meet them at the apartment, along with a truck, boxes, and a recommendation for a storage unit. Syd and Tina talk quietly while Finn is on the phone, then go into the kitchen to talk to Meyers themselves. Tina comes back into the living room while Syd is still talking, grinning at them. 

“So once the apartment and the paperwork are taken care of, Mike’ll come back and meet Syd and me here, and the three of you are leaving.”

“What?” Noah asks. 

“Hang on, I’ll send you the information in a minute.” Tina holds up her phone and then does send something. “Dinner reservations and a hotel room.” 

“And you’re staying with all three kids?” Finn asks. “You’re sure about that?”

“They’ll be asleep most of the time, right?” Tina says. “And hey, there’ll be three of us! It’ll be fine.”

“Let’s not turn down the opportunity,” Noah says quietly. “As long as we escape before they realized what they’ve volunteered for— I mean, thanks, Tina!”

“We have an awesome legal team,” Finn agrees. 

“One other thing before we go to meet the moving team, Finn,” Kurt says with a slight wince. 

“Uh oh,” Finn says. 

“You should probably return one of your mother’s seven phone calls. Only one message, though.”

Finn cringes visibly. “Yeah, I guess that’s… good? Right? What did the message say?”

“She’s sure she’s misunderstood something and she’s worried about you and the girls.” Kurt shrugs. “It’s hard to say what she’s thinking.”

“Ok. I guess I’ll do that. You want to listen in?” Finn offers.

“ _I_ wouldn’t miss it,” Noah says. 

“Speaker it is, then,” Finn says, scrolling to Carole’s number and calling it. He sets the phone to speaker and puts it down on his leg. The phone barely make it through half a ring before Carole answers.

“Finn, oh thank goodness! Now we can get everything straightened out. What’s really going on, sweetie?”

Kurt takes Finn’s hand and squeezes it, and on Finn’s other side, Noah maneuvers himself under Finn’s arm, pressing against his side. 

“Hi, Mom. I’ve taken the girls and left Rachel,” Finn says. “And, uh, that’s about it, I guess.”

“But, Finn.” Carole seems almost a loss for words. “Why would you do this, without any warning? Surely you and Rachel could have tried counseling. You’ve been married for over six years, you don’t want to just throw that away.”

“There wasn’t anything to throw away, Mom,” Finn says. “There never really has been. This is better for the girls and it’s better for me. It’ll be better for Rachel, too.”

“How is she taking it? What about Eliza? Where are you going to live, Finn?” Carole fires the questions rapidly. 

“I don’t know how Rachel’s taking it. Eliza’s fine. And we’ll stay with Kurt, Puck, and Harvey for now,” Finn says. “The apartment’s kind of cramped, but we’ll make do.”

“She— well, you owe it to her to at least take her calls, Finn. And I certainly would think it would be cramped.” Carole sighs heavily. 

“She hasn’t called,” Finn says.

“Poor thing. I hope you’ll be kind to her, Finn. And I suppose today isn’t the time to get into details, is it? I’m going to talk to Burt and he and I and Audrey will come out earlier in the week of Thanksgiving, so we can spend more time with the girls. And you, of course.”

“No, you don’t have to change your plans for us,” Finn says. “Really. It’s fine. We’re all fine. It’s going to be just fine for everybody.”

“No, no, don’t be silly. I’m sure it would help the girls,” Carole insists. 

“Mom, the girls are ok, really.”

“I’m sure they seem that way now, Finn, but things will sink in for them. And what about Charlie? Isn’t Rachel nursing her?”

“No, she’s been on a mix of formula, solids, and what’s left over of Hannah’s pumped milk for a while now,” Finn says. “Rachel wasn’t really interested in keeping up with what she needed.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes a loss of supply does happen,” Carole says, and Kurt has the distinct feeling that regardless of what Finn says, Carole will continue to only really hear a few words and phrases of it. 

Syd walks back into the living room, tablet in hand, and she gestures at Finn, then makes a motion like she’s signing her signature. 

“Hey, Mom? I’ve got to go take care of some paperwork stuff, so I’ll give you a call later,” Finn says, taking the tablet from Syd.

“Oh, okay.” Carole sounds surprised and disappointed. “Keep me in the loop, Finn. Bye.”

“Ok. Bye, Mom.” Finn ends the call and sets his phone down. “I just hope she’s not gonna start calling Rachel or anything.”

“Mike’s already started rehearsal,” Tina says smugly. “And he confiscated all their electronics, per his usual.”

“The document on the screen is the initial filing,” Syd tells Finn. “After you read through that and sign it, we’ll look at the temporary order. She’ll get an actual paper copy still, but you can use the e-filing.”

“Ok, we’ll look over that, and then go get the stuff from the apartment?” Finn asks. 

“Maybe grab some lunch on the way down,” Noah says. 

“What sounds good, darling?” Kurt asks. 

“Is there a traditional divorce meal or something?” Finn sits back and puts his arms around Kurt and Noah again. “I should eat that.”

“So… chocolate-frosted cake?” Noah suggests. “Since wedding cakes are white? No appetizers or canapes.”

“I think you have an ulterior motive for the chocolate,” Kurt notes, and Noah just grins. 

“Ramen? Single-serving frozen dinners?” Syd says. “Bachelor food.” 

“I think you should get Brazilian.” Tina smirks at them. “So much meat!”

“I like Tina’s answer best!” Finn says. “Meat’s the winner!”

Kurt and Noah laugh. “What do you do when you divorce a vegan?” Noah quips. “Eat all the animal products possible.”

“This is some weird déjà vu,” Finn says, shaking his head. “I swear we’ve had this conversation before.”

“I know one thing, though.” Kurt stands and holds out his hands to Finn and Noah. “We are _not_ having it again.”

“Definitely not,” Finn agrees.

 

Noah finds an all-you-can-eat Brazilian restaurant at 48th and 8th Avenue, so they stop there on the way to meet the moving crew. Tina stays with Eliza for them, but Harvey and Charlie ride along, or as Noah suggests, to supervise. 

Because they’re trying to finish quickly, they corral the babies—toddlers, really, Noah corrects himself mentally—in the living room, and start working with the movers. The furniture goes out first, at Kurt’s insistence, almost all of it labeled for the storage unit, and while the movers carry it down, the three of them plus Syd start on the girls’ clothes and toys. 

Finn won’t let them even touch his office or his own clothes until they have completely emptied the girls’ room, but about two and a half hours after they arrived, there’s nothing left in the girls’ room or Finn’s office, and only Rachel’s things in the bedroom. Noah grabs a spare box and heads into the kitchen, grabbing the rest of the bottles, plus the dishes the girls use, and that’s the last box out of the apartment, along with the toys Harvey and Charlie had been playing with in the living room. 

They get back to their apartment and feed the kids dinner, to spare Syd, Mike, and Tina that particular aspect of the evening, and then before they leave for dinner, Kurt and Finn plug their phones in and leave them. 

“We’ll just call Noah’s phone if there’s a problem,” Syd agrees. “There’s no need for the three of you to be bothered. Have fun!”

Their reservation is at Ouest, which means the food will be good but, more importantly, no one has to pick a side of the table, since all the tables are round and nearly enclosed by a high-back booth. It’s not far, but Noah still hails a cab as soon as he can. 

“For our lizard,” he says with a grin. 

“It would be terrible if he froze to death now,” Finn says. “I only just came home.”

“Luckily I have the two of you to help keep me warm, in addition to the cab,” Kurt says wryly. “They organized all of this quickly.”

“Maybe they’ve had it planned and on standby?” Finn offers.

“I was actually wondering that,” Noah says. “I wouldn’t put anything past Syd.”

“I love Syd,” Finn says. “Syd’s awesome.”

“Of course she is,” Kurt agrees. “But you have to admit it’s good she uses her powers for good.”

“Lesbian superhero?” Noah asks. “Lesbian lawyer superhero. You think it’s the next big thing on Broadway?”

“Hey, that could be your next project!” Finn says.

“It might be more of an off-Broadway thing,” Noah says, nodding thoughtfully. “What do you think, blue eyes?”

“It needs to have a comic book aesthetic,” Kurt replies. “Bright colors or noir lighting, no in-betweens.”

“Is going from Broadway to off-Broadway kind of like going from movies to TV?” Finn asks. “Like, is that the kind of thing you’re not supposed to do because it’s moving backwards or whatever?”

“Nah, not necessarily. Like _Small Town_ was one act, so it never would have been anything but off-Broadway. And hey, we did think Lillian deserved to rule over a small empire of theatres if possible.”

“It’s true.” Kurt nods. “She’s the theatre equivalent of a Risk champion.”

“So you guys should start writing that, then. Maybe I’ll help you, even. I can make sure the Super Lesbian is authentic to the real Syd,” Finn says.

“I wonder how Syd will feel about being immortalized on stage?” Kurt asks as the cab pulls in front of the restaurant. 

“At least we’re not making her a time traveler,” Noah points out, climbing out and then leaning through the front window to pay the driver. “But then, didn’t someone already try to do _Quantum Leap: The Musical_?”

“Never found a director,” Kurt says.

“Syd would be a pretty awesome time traveler, though,” Finn muses. 

“Striving to sue those who once walked free.” 

“Hoping each affidavit will be the leap home,” Finn says.

“Well. I’ll certainly have the lyrical work cut out for me,” Kurt says, shaking his head. “Shall we, my loves?”

“Yep, we shall,” Finn agrees. 

Noah laughs. “As long as no one calls, we’re home free for the night.”

 

Finn was able to put his appointments off for a day, but he decides he really does need to go into his office for his Wednesday clients. As they’re getting dressed at the hotel, Kurt offers to accompany Finn to the office, and later, once the three of them are back at the apartment, Puck says he could go and keep Finn company while he works. Finn reminds them both that doctor-patient confidentiality means neither one of them is allowed to sit in on his sessions with clients, and promises he’ll come straight home after work, which he was planning on doing anyway.

After the heavy rain on Monday night, Wednesday is almost unseasonably warm, and the sky is bright blue and nearly cloudless. His Wednesday morning clients include a middle school-aged trumpet prodigy with social anxiety, followed by a bored teenage girl whose parents are divorcing, and he’s done with his sessions and going over some notes by lunch time when Syd calls him.

“Good morning again, Syd!” Finn says.

“Is it still morning? I suppose it is.” Syd sounds like she can’t decide whether to smile or shake her head. “When do you have a few minutes between clients this afternoon, Finn?”

“I have a double music therapy session after lunch, but I should be done by two-thirty or so.”

“Lunch plans?”

“I was just planning on ordering some Chinese in a few, but I can wait,” Finn says.

“Oh, I just figured they’d be checking on you, making sure you didn’t float away,” Syd says, laughing at the end of the sentence. “Okay if I drop in around three?”

“Yeah, I guess they—” Finn cuts himself off when he hears Heidi’s voice through the speaker.

“Mister Hudson? Your… everybody is here.”

“Well, there you go, Syd,” Finn says. “My everybody is here, apparently. Gotta go.”

Syd laughs harder. “See you at three, Finn.”

“Yeah, see you,” Finn says, then presses the button for the speaker to Heidi’s desk. “Send everybody in, Heidi.”

The door opens, and Puck and Kurt enter, each carrying one of the babies, Eliza trailing along after them talking about something in her lecturing voice.

“But that’s why we couldn’t get off at the other stop, Harvey. We were on the _2_ and it doesn’t stop there.”

“I don’t think Harvey can read the schedules yet, Eliza,” Finn says. “Hey everybody! This is a nice surprise.”

“Da!” Charlie announces.

Puck carefully puts her down, where she toddles awkwardly for half the distance to Finn, then falls on her butt with a disgruntled look on her face, then crawls the rest of the way. Finn picks her up and gives her a kiss.

“Guys, maybe she’s just Russian,” Finn says. “I just now thought of that.”

“Nah, we were Polish Jews, not Russian,” Puck says offhandedly. 

“How’s everybody doing today?” Finn asks. “I was about to order some Chinese food.”

“I want pork!” Eliza says, giggling and looking at Puck. 

“We’re good, darling,” Kurt answers. “Chinese does sound good.”

Finn orders food and they all picnic on the floor again, since there isn’t really another viable option. After they’re done eating, Finn kisses each of them goodbye, then sends them on their way right before his next client arrives. The session goes well, and before Finn even realizes that much time has passed, it’s almost three.

“Mister Hudson? Ms. Beckett is here,” Heidi announces through the speaker. 

“Hey, Hudson,” Syd says as she opens the door, not waiting for Heidi to send her through. “How was lunch?”

“Boisterous.”

“And, hey, you’re still earthbound!” Syd adds, smirking at him. 

“They tied me to the desk when they got here,” Finn says. “They’re kinky that way.”

“Say no more.” Syd shakes her head a little. “So, good news.”

“Well, lay it on me, Syd.”

“I don’t know who her lawyer is, which isn’t surprising, but he apparently counseled her to sign the temporary order that we gave her. So until there’s a final agreement, you have full custody. And her lawyer called me between when you and I spoke earlier and now, and suggested that she might be willing to sign a final agreement that is similarly worded.”

Finn exhales loudly before he really processes he had been holding his breath. “Oh thank god. Or thank Syd, is more like it.”

“And Tina, and a few friends who know a little more about family law than I do,” Syd admits. “But yeah, it’s definitely good. Her lawyer wants us to put together a final in the next few weeks, and they’ll look at it the week after Thanksgiving. I told him I wanted you to be a free man before the calendar changed. Well, I didn’t put it quite like that.” Syd grins at Finn. “But close enough.”

“So she’s not pushing back on any of it at all?”

“My guess is that she might on the final, but no, she didn’t with the temporary order. And if Tina talked to her, I don’t know anything about that.”

“Well, if she did and there’s something I need to know from it, I guess she’ll tell me herself,” Finn says with a shrug. “It’s safe to let Eliza go back to school, though? Rachel can’t take her out?”

“Right. You’ll want to go in and talk to them in the morning, I imagine, but no, she can’t.”

“Good. _Good._ ” Finn sighs. “Jesus, Syd. I can’t believe this got taken care of so fast.”

“Now you can just worry about maybe replacing that futon.”

“It’s all about the priorities, Syd.”

 

The six of them eat a relatively early dinner, because Noah and Kurt feel like they need to be at the theatre before anyone else. Kurt doesn’t know how Rachel will react towards them or towards the show, or frankly if she will even show up at all. There’s the additional factor that they are almost certain she had started fucking Zachary again sometime during the spring, or possibly as late as the summer, adding another layer to the dynamics. 

Even though neither Finn nor the two of them have personally told very many people about Finn leaving, Kurt’s also quite certain that word has by now spread, and considering that a majority of the cast seems to know the three of them are involved, everything could get very interesting. Noah puts a sign on every dressing room, telling the cast to meet on the stage as soon as they arrive, and then the two of them walk onto the stage and wait. 

“Wonder if she’ll even show,” Noah says. “I mean, it’s not very professional, but she’s always blurred the line a bit, with us.”

“Yes. I suppose it depends on whether she has any other auditions scheduled soon,” Kurt says. 

“Let’s hope they’re not with anyone who’s heard about the divorce yet,” Noah says, smirking. “Or not with anyone that Finn’s talked to for very long.”

“Considering he’s neither a participant nor an investor, Broadway _does_ love him,” Kurt agrees, giggling a little. Some of the chorus come in first, but not many of them look confused, and Kurt exchanges an amused look with Noah as more footsteps approach. Jamie, Leslie, and Aiden enter together, Jamie giving them a knowing look and a nod. Noah grins back at him, and Kurt stifles a laugh. Most of the rest of the cast arrives, then Zachary comes in behind them, [sporting a black eye](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ose1Q8Revg4_d5FyWu3ViRRREMxk_qNn_5KqyxrKJQk/pub) and a hangdog expression.

The black eye is new, and Kurt realizes he’s arching one eyebrow in Zachary’s direction. Noah shrugs, then motions at Zachary to come towards them. Zachary walks over, and Noah grins at him, offering his hand. “Thanks.”

Because in the end, as Tina passed along, Rachel thinks she has a place to land in Zachary, even after apparently being told Zachary wasn’t and isn’t looking for anything serious or even semi-permanent, and Kurt and Noah are sure that had at least something to do with her quick acquiescence on the temporary order. 

Zachary looks confused, which isn’t that unusual for Zachary, though it’s typically after performances, since he doesn’t smoke pot before shows. He glances over his shoulder at Jamie briefly. “Uh… you’re welcome?”

“Really,” Kurt adds, nodding. “Thank you. You know why.” 

Zachary nods back, not looking any less confused, and walks back over to the rest of the assembled cast. There’s silence and some amused looks, and before Kurt or Noah can say anything else, Rachel’s footsteps echo from backstage, and everyone turns towards the sound. 

Kurt decides Rachel might have been hoping to slip into her dressing room nearly unnoticed, based on the time, but she also seems to have thought she could slip onto the stage without anyone noticing her. Instead, they’re all staring at her, and Kurt can feel his smile widen. 

“Oh, good, now everyone’s here.” He straightens and clasps his hands together. “Regardless of gossip and rumors, Noah and I wanted to remind everyone that this is, of course, a professional production, all of us are professionals, and we expect professional conduct, both on stage and backstage.”

“So, it’s true?” a voice calls out from the back of the group. It might be Leslie, or it could be a member of the chorus.

“Lots of things are true,” Noah retorts with a grin. “But yes, I think I know what you’re asking. Finn and Rachel are going their separate ways. That’s all most of you need to know, in terms of the show. Any other questions?”

No one responds, though Rachel’s lips are pursed, and she gives Zachary an odd look. Kurt isn’t sure if it’s meant to be suggestive or questioning, and he shrugs. As long as they keep it from interfering with the show, he doesn’t particularly care. 

“Great,” Noah says. “Go get into your costumes, we have a show to do.”

 

Despite Finn’s continual reassurance that it’s not necessary to fly in early, Carole, Burt, and Audrey fly in the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Finn meets them at the airport like he always does, because despite twelve years of flying to New York, Burt still insists he has no idea how to get around the city without a sherpa. Just like always, Finn waits near the baggage claim, because just like always, they will predictably be flying with far more luggage than they need.

This year, Audrey finds Finn first, and Finn can hear her yell of “Finn!” from across the crowd.

“Aud!” Finn shouts back. “Where are you?”

Audrey comes sprinting towards Finn from between a group of older women pulling rolling suitcases, grinning at him through her braces. “Hey!”

Finn picks her up under the arms as he hugs her and spins her around. Audrey squeals and kicks her legs in protest. Once he puts her down, she glares at him and says, “Finn, I’m _twelve_ now. You can’t pick me up like a little kid!”

“I think I just proved that I can,” Finn points out.

“Audrey, I nearly lost you in this crowd,” Carole says, stepping into view. “Hi, sweetie!” She comes towards him for a hug, then stops. “Oh, I thought you’d have the girls with you! Are they visiting Rachel?”

“Uh, no,” Finn says. “They’re with Kurt, Puck, and Harvey.”

“I never liked her,” Audrey says, leaning forward conspiratorially. 

“Audrey, that’s not very nice,” Carole says, shaking her head in disapproval.

“There you all are,” Burt says, finally catching up to them. “I must be getting old. Can’t keep up with my girls anymore.”

“It might not be nice, but it’s true,” Audrey whispers to Finn. Finn stifles a laugh, but winks at her. 

“Let’s go get your bags,” Finn says. “Burt, you up for the bus this time?”

“Nah, I’d rather take a cab,” Burt says, just like every other time. “I don’t care how much it costs when it’s that much less of a hassle.”

“However you want to do it,” Finn says, shrugging. “Now, Audrey, tell me more about that guy who sits behind you in English class.”

 

“So I thought your mom was going to turn purple earlier,” Noah says to Finn on Tuesday after dinner, once the kids are at the hotel with Burt, Carole, and Audrey for the night. 

“I keep trying to tell her the girls are fine,” Finn says, “so I’m not sure what she expected. Yeah, I’m sure Eliza’ll have moments here or there that she misses Rachel, but you heard her tonight. She already thinks mommies are mostly about telling you that you’re sitting wrong.”

“And withholding pork products,” Kurt adds, pressing his lips together in an effort not to laugh. “Where are we going? Because I’m going to dress differently depending.” 

“What do you think, Finn?” Noah asks. “Drinks, dancing, or both?”

“Both. First, I’ve got to figure out where I can stick these flowers that we can all actually live in this apartment, though,” Finn says. “Leaving the vases around everywhere was fine at first, but you know the Peas’ll knock ’em over if they’re still out in the morning.”

“The Peas?” Noah repeats. “You mean… Char and Harv?”

“Yeah. Like in a pod,” Finn explains. “You know how they sleep kinda spooned up like that? Like peas in a pod.”

“Yeah, okay.” Noah nods. “But we had to get you flowers.” 

“Exactly. It’s our Tuesday.” Kurt grins. “Baby, it’s too bad we didn’t grab that other one after dinner.”

“It’s also probably good Finn doesn’t have allergies,” Noah admits. 

“You could just get me smaller flowers, you know,” Finn says. “That is an option.”

“Hmm. Maybe next year.” Noah smirks. “But both. Snow?”

“If you’ll help me pick out something to wear,” Finn says. “We might have to test drive it here before we go out.”

“That seems like a lot of work,” Kurt says slowly. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to just wait until we’re nearly out the door to put on any clothes at all?” 

“Sadly, Finn’s never agreed to wear anything see-through,” Noah points out. “Any chance of that changing, darling?”

“Depends on what you’re bribing me with, I guess.”

“Just us. But we like to think that’s a pretty good deal,” Noah says. 

“We’re a very good deal.”

“How see-through are we talking?” Finn asks.

Kurt smiles almost too innocently, and Noah grins. “Just enough,” Kurt promises. 

“We do like to show off,” Noah can’t resist adding. 

“Hmmm.” Finn acts like he’s mulling it over. “Maybe just this once, because it’s our Tuesday.”

“And K does like to make an entrance.” Noah smirks and digs in the closet, tossing a few things out. “We should make sure he can do that properly.”

 

“I’ll be back!” Hannah calls as she shuts the door to Noah’s apartment, then laughs. Despite the fact that they were all on Central Park West until just a little bit before, they’re watching the end of the television coverage of the parade. Hannah wraps her scarf around her and pulls her gloves on before leaving the building and heading to the 72nd St stop to meet Stevie— and Sam. 

Nearly two years after she and Stevie had initially reconnected, and Sam still doesn’t know that she’s actually Hannah _Puckerman_. She giggles to herself and stands just outside the stop, waiting. 

“Hannah!” Stevie calls a moment later, and she waves, going over to him and Sam and giving him a quick kiss. “Hannah, this is my brother, Sam. Sam, this is Hannah.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hannah says, mentally adding an ‘again’ at the end of the sentence. 

“It’s good to finally meet you, too,” Sam says. “And I really appreciate your family being willing to have me join them for Thanksgiving.” 

“Oh, no, the more the merrier. We have a little bit of time before our reservation at Sarabeth’s West, so you can come meet a few people first.” It’s not even entirely a lie, Hannah thinks. He hasn’t met Harvey or Charlie. 

“Okay, sure,” Sam agrees.

“You did warn him?” Hannah says to Stevie, winking where Sam can’t see. “That we’re a little non-traditional?”

“Of course.” Stevie grins at Hannah and takes her hand, and the three of them make the short walk back. 

“Things are a little crowded right now,” Hannah warns as they enter the building and head up the stairs. “They’re moving after the holidays, and there’s a seat to be found when necessary, but it is a little cramped. I’d start looking now if I were them, but.” She waves her hand dismissively. She knows that Finn does likely need to have the divorce finalized, and she knows that it probably does make sense to wait until Christmas and Hanukkah, but their apartment _is_ cramped with three adults and three kids all living there. 

“Just don’t step on any Duplos,” Stevie warns Sam. 

“Right, Duplos,” Sam agrees. 

Hannah opens the door and steps in just far enough for Sam and Stevie to follow her, and Stevie locks the door behind them. “I’m back!”

“Hey, Stinkerbelle,” Finn shouts from the kitchen. “Did you bring Trouty Mouth?”

“Trouty Mouth?” Sam repeats, then he stares at Hannah. “Hannah. Hannah _Puckerman_.” 

Hannah laughs. “Guilty as charged.” 

 

Finn turns his head to ask Harvey, “You ready to go meet the one and only Dolphins’ own Mr. Abulous?”

“Ab! Ab?” Harvey says. “Hannah!”

“That’s pretty much the only way to explain it,” Finn agrees. He pokes his head out of the kitchen and grins at Sam. “Hey, Sam!”

“I— Hi, Finn,” Sam manages. “How long have you known about this, Stevie?”

“Oh, I’m the one that figured it out,” Kurt calls from the living room. “I went to take Hannah her bag at work while she was pregnant, and asked her why she hadn’t told us that ‘Steve’ was actually ‘Stevie’. Come on in, there’s a seat or two.” 

“I’m still confused,” Sam admits, but he follows Hannah and Stevie into the living room. 

“Just watch out for Ennis,” Finn warns. “He’s getting up there in years now, and sometimes he forgets that it’s possible to step on him or sit on him.”

“My cat is not old!” 

“Da! Dat!” Charlie yells. “Dat dat da!”

“Geez, you two!” Finn laughs. “You know, Puck, it’s not fair to gang up on me with Charlie.”

“Sure it is!” Puck retorts. “Ennis needs defenders.”

“I’m still really confused,” Sam admits. “Who lives here?”

“Everybody,” Finn says. “Well, not Hannah. Everybody else.”

“Obbi!” Charlie declares, smiling and showing off her seven teeth. “Obbi dat dat da!”

“Towly!” Harvey announces from Finn’s back. “Towly cat, Towly Dad, Towly banket, Towly Daddy, Towly Lila, Towly Papa!”

“Papapapa dat,” Charlie agrees.

“Well, you sure got them going now, Nooooooah,” Finn says, glancing over at Kurt, who sing-songs back, “ _Nooooooaaah_.”

“This is more confusing than my playbook,” Sam says. 

“Oh, this is pretty calm!” Hannah assures him. “Eliza, can I borrow your room to change clothes?”

“Sure!” Eliza says, looking up from her book. “Don’t knock any of the instruments off. On Ennis!” She giggles. 

“You could drop a piano on that cat and it might hurt the piano,” Finn says to Sam.

“Except we thankfully have never tried to get a piano into an apartment,” Kurt says, then glances at Puck. “No, Noah. Not here. Maybe after we move.”

“ _Play me a song, you’re the piano man,_ ” Finn sings to Puck.

“Pay songa night,” Harvey recites. 

“Nigh nigh nigh,” Charlie adds.

“Would you like a tour?” Eliza asks Sam. “Because I met you before. Dad told me, I don’t remember it.”

“Um, sure?” Sam answers. “And yeah, we did. You made a really cool dolphin noise.”

“Like this?” Eliza stands up and demonstrates, then grabs Sam’s wrist, pulling him to the hall. “That’s my room. And that’s for Harvey and Charlie. And that’s the bedroom for dads.” She turns him around. “And there’s the living room and there’s the kitchen and there’s where we eat! And you saw the hall.”

Sam creases his forehead, looking confused, and throws Stevie a look. Stevie just starts grinning. 

“Oh, Sam,” Kurt says, shaking his head. “You were there at Brittany’s after senior year. Never Have I Ever?”

“Yeah?” That doesn’t appear to help Sam figure anything out. 

“Oh for— _here_ ,” Finn says, grabbing Kurt and kissing him, then releasing him. “And also—” He grabs Puck and kisses him. “Got it?”

“Remember, he had left karaoke before you two lip-locked,” Puck says. 

“Uh. Yeah. I guess so.” Sam blinks and then glares half-heartedly at Stevie. “You’re a lot more devious than I remember you.” 

“Sam Abulous, you haven’t lived with me in years,” Stevie retorts. 

“It’s the Puckerman influence,” Finn says. 

“Oh, did I miss all the fun?” Hannah says, coming back into the room. “Ooh, Sam, you look so stunned!” She looks at Finn. “Did you mention about the outsiders, peahen knees?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Puckerman Influence herself,” Finn says, holding both hands out towards Hannah like he’s a magician and she’s a rabbit in a hat. “But no, we hadn’t gotten that far yet, hippo lips.”

“The outsiders?” Sam shakes his head. “I don’t think you mean the ’80s movie.”

“My dad, Carole, Audrey,” Kurt lists off. “Nana’s not here because she’s moving in the spring, and she’d probably be okay anyway. We’re not completely sure what Shelby knows, and obviously not Beth.” 

“Right. Obviously not,” Sam repeats, nodding slowly. “Okay. Got it.” 

Harvey points at Sam suddenly. “Dad? Who dat?”

“That’s Sam,” Finn says. “You can call him Trouty Mouth if you want, but it’s easier to say Sam.”

“Sam,” Harvey repeats. “Towly, Sam!”

“Am am am am,” Charlie parrots back. “Obbi am!”

Puck grins at Sam. “You’re official now.”

“Yep, you’ve been claimed by the Peas,” Finn says. “Stuck with us forever.”

“Speaking of being claimed, in fact,” Kurt says, turning to Sam with a little smirk, “what’s the status of you and Mercedes? She didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving in New York?”

Sam laughs and shakes his head. “She’s good. We’re good. She’s filming a Christmas special thing in L.A. this weekend. I told her she needed to have someone write her a song called ‘Christmas in Miami’, but the set’s apparently going to have snow all over it, so no go.”

“Aww, see now, if you’d just let Kurt and Puck know sooner, they could have written her something!” Finn says. “Hey, you guys should write Mercedes a part in your next musical, whenever you write that.”

“In the past couple of weeks, we’ve acquired a lesbian superhero lawyer musical, a Christmas song about Miami, and a part for Mercedes. Got it,” Puck says with a laugh. 

“Mercedes could play a lesbian superhero lawyer in Miami,” Finn says. “That’ll tie things together pretty awesomely.”

“Miami does have the bright color palette, at least,” Kurt says, shrugging and pursing his lips. “Perhaps it could work.” 

“This is normal for all of y’all?” Sam asks, looking almost bewildered. 

“Not really,” Finn says. “It’s kinda quiet today.”

“Oh.” Sam shakes his head. “Well, okay. That’s good. A holiday and everything. So where’s Thanksgiving dinner?”

 

Considering that there are nine people to make the walk up to Sarabeth’s West, Kurt thinks they’re doing quite well. When they pass the playground, he does have to convince Harvey it is not, in fact, time to play on the ‘wings’, but he forgets about the swings and the slides by the time they’re two blocks from the restaurant. 

Sam still looks a little stunned and confused, which may be a fair reaction considering the amount of information he’s having to absorb. Shelby sends Noah a message that she and Beth are running just a few minutes late, but to go ahead and sit down, and Kurt really isn’t expecting any trouble, even with such a large group assembled. 

He isn’t, that is, until they are about to cross 80th, and he narrows his eyes. “Noah,” he says very quietly. “If that’s who I think it is, make sure Eliza doesn’t notice her.”

“Yeah, it is,” Noah says. “The fuck, blue eyes.” 

“I don’t know.” Noah steps down 80th with Eliza, pointing to the windows and Kurt falls into step precisely with Finn. “Do we have any idea why she’s here?”

“Did she think she was still invited or something?” Finn asks. “I don’t understand.”

Kurt steps to the front of their group, for the moment ignoring Burt and Carole. “Why are you here?” he hisses at Rachel. 

“Carole called me earlier in the week,” Rachel replies, tossing her head slightly. “She suggested that if Finn and I could sit down in a neutral location, perhaps we could in fact work something out.” 

Kurt raises an eyebrow at Finn, then turns to Carole. “We’ll discuss this in a moment.” He turns back to Finn. “Well.”

“No,” Finn says bluntly. 

“Now, Finn, wouldn’t it be nice for the girls to see their mother on Thanksgiving?” Carole asks. 

Rachel pastes on a smile and nods, but Kurt notes that she’s looking for Eliza, not even seeming to notice Charlie right in front of her, riding in the carrier Finn still insists upon calling the Bucky bag. “Exactly!”

“ _No_ ,” Finn repeats. “You shouldn’t have called her, Mom. Rachel, you need to go now.”

Rachel’s eyes dart towards Carole, then back to Finn, before landing on Kurt. “Fine.” She lifts her chin. “My dads and I are eating at Candle 79 later, as it is.” She starts to walk south, then stops suddenly. “Sam Evans?” she says incredulously. 

“Uh. Hi?” Sam waves. “I’m just eating Thanksgiving with my brother. That’s all.”

“This is his brother,” Hannah says, lifting their joined hands. “You know, the one you said that looked like Sam Evans?”

Rachel huffs and stalks down the sidewalk, and Hannah giggles. When Rachel has crossed Amsterdam, Kurt turns to Carole.

“Carole, you are a goddamn _idiot_. Even if it were any of your business—which it isn’t, by the way—you do not do something as asinine as setting up an impromptu holiday mediation!” 

“I just want what’s best for the girls,” Carole says. “Tell him, Burt.” She looks at Burt almost imploringly. 

Burt puts his hands up. “I’m going to go inside and make sure we’re checked in.”

“You cannot do this, Carole! It was not your marriage, no matter how much more invested in it you were than Finn! And they are not your children. Did you even think about how confusing this could have been for Eliza?”

“I’m going in,” Finn says softly. He touches Kurt’s lower back as he passes on his way into the restaurant. Kurt sees Hannah pulling the Evans boys into the restaurant, out of the corner of his eye, and then Noah and Eliza stop beside Kurt. 

“Here,” Noah says, reaching out for Harvey and then letting him walk in, holding onto one of Noah’s hands and one of Eliza’s. 

“All of this was done so quickly, Kurt,” Carole says. “They have _two children_. Finn didn’t even try to make things work.”

“Finn tried every day of the entire fucking sham of a marriage.” Kurt can feel his mouth draw into a thin line. “You wanted him married to Rachel more than he ever wanted to be married to her. The proposal was a _PR stunt_ for the Bears, Carole! Wake up! Rachel was in on it until she realized she could be a famous person’s _wife_.”

“I don’t believe you,” Carole insists. “Why would that be true? That’s ridiculous.” 

“Believe me or don’t, but understand this. Finn made the very best decision he could have made for those girls. Rachel was starving Charlie, and the way she berated Eliza.” Kurt shakes his head. “You know what, I don’t care if you believe me. Just keep your fucking mouth shut about Rachel, about Finn, about the divorce, about the girls. Your opinion isn’t wanted or needed.” He stops to take a deep breath. “Not to any of us, and not to Audrey, either.” 

“Oh, you’re not going to stop me from talking to your father?” Carole retorts. 

“I already know there are some ‘mistakes’ you won’t mention to him,” Kurt says, shaking his head and smiling in spite of himself. “I can’t imagine you’d want to ever admit just how wrong you were about Rachel Berry.”

“She’s the girls’ mother.”

“Parenting’s about a hell of a lot more than some fucking DNA!” Kurt yells back at her. “Didn’t you hear what I said? She was _starving_ Charlie. If we hadn’t figured it out, Dr. Shanti was going to start running tests on her!” Kurt shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. Maybe it will make Carole think, but he feels like no matter what he says or what evidence he produces, Carole will continue to think whatever she wants to think. “I can’t believe this. Just stay _out_ of it, Carole. No more surprise Rachel, no more attempts to sing her praises. He left her. It’s over; leave it alone.”

Before Carole can come up with any other ridiculous statements, Kurt turns and walks into the restaurant, following the sound of Charlie repeating “Taw! Taw! Taw!” followed shortly thereafter by “Towly tar.” 

“That’s right, that is a star,” Finn says. “Good job, Peas!”

“Pees pees pees pees,” Charlie says. 

“Towly Hawby Pees!” Harvey agrees. 

“Yep, that’s you, Harvald,” Finn says. He catches Kurt’s eye, then, raising both his eyebrows. “Hey, Puck?” Finn says over his shoulder.

“Yep?” Noah answers.

“You want to watch the Peas for a few?”

“I don’t know, Peas, what do you think?” Noah says. “You two want to look for more stars?”

“Tar Papa Towly,” Harvey says, clapping. 

“There you have it,” Noah says. “Star Papa Charlie. We’re all set.”

“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” Finn mutters. “Bossofme, let’s go walk it off,” he says to Kurt. He puts his hand on the small of Kurt’s back and starts to steer him towards the bathroom. 

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to spend the weekend in jail,” Kurt assures him softly. “I would happily pay to put Carole on a plane tonight, though.” 

“Mmhmm,” Finn agrees, while they continue into the bathroom, where Finn immediately locks the door behind them. Once the door is locked, Finn pulls Kurt to him, crushing Kurt’s mouth under his, both his hands in Kurt’s hair. 

Kurt returns the kiss, backing Finn up with a nudge until Finn’s back hits the wall, and Kurt puts his hands on Finn’s sides. Kurt shifts without pulling their lips apart, his leg sliding between Finn’s, and Finn moans into Kurt’s mouth, tightening his hands in Kurt’s hair. 

Kurt’s hands run along Finn’s belt, and he slowly unbuckles it, then unfastens Finn’s pants enough to put his hand down Finn’s underwear and wrap it around Finn’s cock. Finn groans “Oh fuck, Kurt,” first yanking on Kurt’s hair and then giving his head a gentle downward push. 

“God, darling,” Kurt says quietly, slowly dropping down and pulling Finn’s pants with him, then Finn’s underwear. “Love you.” 

“Love you, Kurt. Fuck, please.”

“Mmm.” Kurt slowly takes Finn in his mouth, his hand wrapped around the base. Kurt closes his eyes, moving his mouth a little more quickly as he puts his other hand on Finn’s hip. Finn uses his grip on Kurt’s hair to gently guide Kurt’s head. 

“God, Kurt. That’s so good, your mouth is so good, you’re so fucking amazing, you were so fucking hot out there,” Finn babbles. Kurt drags his fingers over Finn’s skin, down from his hip to the top of his thigh, and then inward, almost touching Finn’s cock with both hands. Kurt pulls his mouth back, leaving just the tip in his mouth, and with the hand not circling the base, he runs his thumb down the side and back up. Finn whines and pulls on Kurt’s hair again. Kurt repeats the motion a second, then a third time, his tongue running over the tip, and then takes his hand off Finn’s cock, sliding it back and circling a finger as he takes more of Finn’s cock in his mouth again. 

“Fuck,” Finn mutters. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, Kurt.” Kurt nods once, wrapping his tongue around Finn. Finn cries out loudly and starts to come, his hips bucking and his hands still buried in Kurt’s hair. Kurt keeps moving until Finn is still, then carefully stands, his hands still resting near Finn’s hips. 

“Mmm, I always like how you look, like this,” Kurt says. 

“Yeah?” Finn asks, his face flushed and open. He looks a little bit lazy and very content, and Kurt smiles. 

“Yeah. I do.” He pulls Finn down into a kiss, running his hands through Finn’s hair. “Very good.”

“I messed your hair up,” Finn says. “Hope that’s ok.”

“I’m sure I can fix it.” Kurt shrugs. “If not, well, the ones that know, know, and the ones that don’t wouldn’t guess.”

“I like you like that, though,” Finn says. “So don’t fix it too much.” He pulls Kurt into another kiss, holding Kurt’s face in his hands. When Finn finally pulls away, he says, “I’ll go out first?”

Kurt giggles. “Like a plane, darling?”

“We should fly some more places,” Finn agrees, sounding almost drunk. “I’ll see you at the table.”

“Okay, darling,” Kurt agrees, stepping back and looking briefly in the mirror. He waits half a minute after Finn leaves to head out as well, smiling at the man he passes in the hallway. He stops just out of sight of most of the table and gazes at them. Hannah and Stevie are talking to Burt, Carole’s taking a sip of water and looking a little pinched, and Sam still looks bewildered by his New York Thanksgiving experience. If the Dolphins lose to the Jets, Kurt will probably suspect they have something to do with it. While he and Finn were gone, Shelby and Beth arrived, and the two of them are talking to Audrey and Eliza. Harvey and Charlie are explaining something very seriously to Noah and Finn, and Kurt just watches everyone for another few moments. In the overall scheme of things, Carole’s interference is a minor annoyance, and Kurt smiles as he starts walking again. It’s not little, and it’s not broken, but it is their family, and they found it, all on their own.


End file.
